HRT Financial LP Acquires Shares of 18,817 AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC)

HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,118,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH acquired a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in AmerisourceBergen by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in AmerisourceBergen by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 265 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 84.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AmerisourceBergen Stock Performance

Shares of ABC opened at $170.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.19. AmerisourceBergen Co. has a 52-week low of $135.14 and a 52-week high of $176.62. The company has a market capitalization of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.52.

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.21. AmerisourceBergen had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 809.53%. The firm had revenue of $63.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that AmerisourceBergen Co. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AmerisourceBergen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. AmerisourceBergen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AmerisourceBergen

In other news, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of AmerisourceBergen stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total transaction of $50,000,089.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,366,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Steven H. Collis sold 10,499 shares of AmerisourceBergen stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $1,574,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 257,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,695,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. sold 292,792 shares of AmerisourceBergen stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.77, for a total transaction of $50,000,089.84. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,366,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,978,078.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 326,213 shares of company stock worth $55,412,200. 20.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research note on Friday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $184.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. TheStreet upgraded shares of AmerisourceBergen from a “c” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.62.

AmerisourceBergen Company Profile

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AmerisourceBergen Corp. engages in the provision of pharmaceutical products and business solutions that improve access to care. It operates through the Pharmaceutical Distribution Services and Other segments. The Pharmaceutical Distribution Services segment distributes an offering of brand-name, specialty brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, and long-term care and alternate site pharmacies.