AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $181.62.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABC shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research report on Friday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $182.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $184.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st.

Insider Activity at AmerisourceBergen

In related news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total value of $50,000,089.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,366,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AmerisourceBergen news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total transaction of $50,000,089.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,366,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.52, for a total value of $1,779,790.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,730,565.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 326,213 shares of company stock valued at $55,412,200 over the last quarter. 20.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AmerisourceBergen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RFP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AmerisourceBergen during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 61.8% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new stake in shares of AmerisourceBergen during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AmerisourceBergen in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings in AmerisourceBergen by 73.7% in the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 84.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AmerisourceBergen Price Performance

NYSE:ABC opened at $171.06 on Thursday. AmerisourceBergen has a 1-year low of $135.14 and a 1-year high of $176.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.52.

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.21. AmerisourceBergen had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 809.53%. The business had revenue of $63.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AmerisourceBergen will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AmerisourceBergen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th will be paid a $0.485 dividend. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. AmerisourceBergen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.94%.

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.