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

Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) announced 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 dividend 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. Equities 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 Price Performance

Shares of Astrazeneca stock opened at $155.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.89. Astrazeneca has a twelve month low of $145.79 and a twelve month high of $212.71. The firm has a market cap of $241.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.44 billion. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 17.02%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Astrazeneca will post 10.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Astrazeneca

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZN. Ballast Inc. bought a new position in Astrazeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Investors Research Corp bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the 2nd quarter worth $122,000. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its position in Astrazeneca by 3.8% in the second quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Astrazeneca by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 8,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in Astrazeneca during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,296,000. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.