Brokerages Set AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Price Target at $89.75

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

Several research analysts have commented on AZN shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AstraZeneca from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised shares of AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AZN traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.35. 3,319,964 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,760,289. AstraZeneca has a 52 week low of $60.47 and a 52 week high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.83. The company has a market cap of $239.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. AstraZeneca's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in AstraZeneca by 17.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,271,974 shares of the company's stock worth $4,151,177,000 after buying an additional 9,002,450 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 1st quarter worth about $186,127,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth about $188,476,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 750.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,283,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 65.1% in the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,409,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,934,000 after acquiring an additional 950,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company's stock.

About AstraZeneca

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.