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

AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) announced a semi-annual dividend on Friday, February 7th,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 an increase from AstraZeneca’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.49.

AstraZeneca has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.0% per year over the last three years. AstraZeneca has a payout ratio of 19.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect AstraZeneca to earn $4.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.5%.

AstraZeneca Price Performance

AZN stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,187,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,131,700. The company has a market capitalization of $222.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.38 and its 200-day moving average is $73.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AstraZeneca has a 1 year low of $60.47 and a 1 year high of $87.68.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.05). AstraZeneca had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 30.01%. On average, research analysts expect that AstraZeneca will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.75.

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.