AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of research firms recently commented on AZN. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in AstraZeneca by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 95,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 50,750 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in AstraZeneca by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 14,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in AstraZeneca by 317.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,242,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,136,000 after purchasing an additional 944,765 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 163,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,979,000 after acquiring an additional 49,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the third quarter worth $2,241,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 0.2 %

AZN stock opened at $75.17 on Friday. AstraZeneca has a 1-year low of $60.47 and a 1-year high of $75.81. The stock has a market cap of $233.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.27 and its 200 day moving average is $66.06.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.01). AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.34% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $12.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. AstraZeneca’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.965 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. This represents a yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.61%.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.