AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $180.08.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Argus increased their price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of AmerisourceBergen in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AmerisourceBergen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gina Clark sold 1,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $300,567.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,229.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gina Clark sold 1,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $300,567.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,229.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lazarus Krikorian sold 5,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.82, for a total transaction of $889,888.02. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,918,820.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,664 shares of company stock valued at $10,961,065. 20.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AmerisourceBergen

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABC. RFP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of AmerisourceBergen by 73.7% in the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AmerisourceBergen in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 84.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AmerisourceBergen Stock Performance

AmerisourceBergen stock opened at $149.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.30. AmerisourceBergen has a 1 year low of $135.14 and a 1 year high of $174.63. The company has a market cap of $30.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $160.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.91.

AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.09. AmerisourceBergen had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 597.57%. The company had revenue of $62.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AmerisourceBergen will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

AmerisourceBergen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.485 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. AmerisourceBergen’s payout ratio is 23.54%.

About AmerisourceBergen

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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.