AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $176.25.

ABC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded AmerisourceBergen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Bank Of America (Bofa) upgraded AmerisourceBergen to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 11th. Bank of America upgraded AmerisourceBergen from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $169.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 11th. Cowen cut their price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 18th. Finally, Cowen cut their price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $1,724,775.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 257,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,378,818.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 13,234,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.60, for a total transaction of $2,046,000,053.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,629,714 shares in the company, valued at $6,126,753,784.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of AmerisourceBergen stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.28, for a total transaction of $1,724,775.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,378,818.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,279,532 shares of company stock worth $3,043,889,702. Corporate insiders own 28.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dupont Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 475 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 5.8% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 85,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,055,000 after buying an additional 4,692 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in AmerisourceBergen by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank bought a new position in AmerisourceBergen during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,445,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in AmerisourceBergen by 716.7% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. 84.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AmerisourceBergen Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABC opened at $162.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $165.46 and a 200-day moving average of $152.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.55. AmerisourceBergen has a fifty-two week low of $127.94 and a fifty-two week high of $174.63.

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 3rd. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by $0.02. AmerisourceBergen had a return on equity of 444.46% and a net margin of 0.71%. The business had revenue of $61.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. AmerisourceBergen’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AmerisourceBergen will post 11.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AmerisourceBergen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 14th were paid a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 10th. This is a positive change from AmerisourceBergen’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. AmerisourceBergen’s payout ratio is 24.13%.

AmerisourceBergen Company Profile

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AmerisourceBergen Corp. engages in the provision of pharmaceutical products and business solutions that improve access to care. It operates through the Pharmaceutical Distribution Services and Other segments. The Pharmaceutical Distribution Services segment distributes an offering of brand-name, specialty brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, and long-term care and alternate site pharmacies.