AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) to Issue Semi-Annual Dividend of $0.49 on September 9th

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) declared a Semi-Annual dividend on Thursday, July 25th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.49 per share on Monday, September 9th. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th.

AstraZeneca has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years. AstraZeneca has a payout ratio of 41.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AstraZeneca to earn $4.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.97 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.1%.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $78.13 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $242.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $80.86.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.62 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 29.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AZN shares. Citigroup raised shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of AstraZeneca to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AstraZeneca from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

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.