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

Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.75.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on AstraZeneca from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AstraZeneca

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 154,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,433,000 after purchasing an additional 15,642 shares during the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC bought a new position in shares of AstraZeneca in the 1st quarter worth $2,683,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of AstraZeneca by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,537,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,160,000 after acquiring an additional 121,876 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in AstraZeneca by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZN opened at $78.38 on Wednesday. AstraZeneca has a 12-month low of $60.47 and a 12-month high of $87.68. The company has a market cap of $243.02 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.34%. AstraZeneca’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AstraZeneca will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

AstraZeneca Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a yield of 1.8%. AstraZeneca’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.04%.

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.