AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Raises Dividend to $1.03 Per Share

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) announced a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of 1.03 per share on Monday, March 24th. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49.

AstraZeneca has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.0% annually over the last three years. AstraZeneca has a dividend payout ratio of 41.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect AstraZeneca to earn $5.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.0%.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

Shares of AZN stock opened at $74.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.29. AstraZeneca has a one year low of $62.75 and a one year high of $87.68. The firm has a market cap of $231.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.46.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 32.23%. On average, analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded AstraZeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.