AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) Plans Semi-annual Dividend of $1.03

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 paid a dividend of 1.03 per share on Monday, March 24th. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio of 19.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect AstraZeneca to earn $5.15 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 19.4%.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AstraZeneca stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $223.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.46. AstraZeneca has a 12 month low of $60.47 and a 12 month high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.46 and its 200-day moving average is $73.64.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 13.01%. Equities analysts anticipate that AstraZeneca will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. UBS Group raised shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of AstraZeneca from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AstraZeneca has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.