Analysts Set AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Price Target at $80.00

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.00.

AZN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AstraZeneca in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AstraZeneca from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Institutional Trading of AstraZeneca

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZN. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 3rd quarter worth $715,198,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AstraZeneca during the 4th quarter worth $143,999,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 281.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 2,779,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,180,000 after buying an additional 2,050,064 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 118.9% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,592,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,951,000 after buying an additional 1,951,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 22,946,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,937,000 after buying an additional 1,139,295 shares in the last quarter. 20.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $70.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $76.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.62 and a 200-day moving average of $65.92. The company has a market capitalization of $219.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.50.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $12.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.07 billion. AstraZeneca had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AstraZeneca will post 4 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.965 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.52%.

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.