Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) Plans Dividend of GBP 0.80

Key Points

• AstraZeneca declared a dividend of £0.795 per share, payable September 8 to shareholders of record on August 7; the ex-dividend date is also August 7. The company’s annual dividend is reported at $4.34, with an 85.3% current payout ratio.
• AstraZeneca’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations on earnings, reporting EPS of $2.63 versus the $2.50 consensus, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $15.38 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy, two Hold and one Sell rating, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $211 price target.

Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.795 per share on Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 94.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th.

Astrazeneca has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Astrazeneca has a payout ratio of 85.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Research analysts expect Astrazeneca to earn $11.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.1%.

Astrazeneca Stock Performance

Shares of AZN opened at $155.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.53. Astrazeneca has a one year low of $145.79 and a one year high of $212.71. The stock has a market cap of $241.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Astrazeneca will post 10.22 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Astrazeneca from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Astrazeneca currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.00.

About Astrazeneca

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.

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