AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Receives $89.75 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Buy" by the ten research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on AstraZeneca in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in AstraZeneca in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AstraZeneca in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 608 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in AstraZeneca by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 543,398 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 101,225 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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AstraZeneca Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of AZN stock traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.87. The company had a trading volume of 9,762,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,263,325. The company has a market cap of $201.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.96.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.15%.

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.