AmerisourceBergen Co. (NYSE:ABC) has been the talk of the town, making waves with its impressive quarterly results and attracting attention from institutional investors such as Patton Fund Management Inc. The recent disclosure with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that Patton Fund Management Inc. has acquired a new position in AmerisourceBergen Co., valued at approximately $214,000 for 1,292 shares of the company’s stock. This comes on the heels of impressive earnings results released by the pharmaceutical distribution company on May 2nd.
The company reported $3.50 EPS for their latest quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.29 by $0.21, while revenue for this same quarter was up 9.9% compared to last year’s numbers. These figures are impressive on their own, but coupled with a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 809.53%, they paint a picture of a company on the rise.
This growth has not gone unnoticed among analysts either as many have given AmerisourceBergen Co. glowing reviews recently. Barclays bumped up their target price from $182 to $189 per share and issued an “overweight” rating; UBS Group raised their price objective from $184 to $190 per share while also giving them a “buy” rating; StockNews.com gave AmerisourceBergen Co.’s stock a “strong buy” rating; and Deutsche Bank increased their target price from $174 to $182.
With all these factors combined, it’s no surprise that Bloomberg reports that AmerisourceBergen has received an overall “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts as well as enjoyng a consensus price target of $181.62.
Overall, AmerisourceBergen Co.’s financials look solid with strong earnings results and plenty of support from investors and analysts. If this trend continues, the company could cement itself firmly as a leader in the pharmaceutical distribution industry.
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AmerisourceBergen’s Market Changes: Institutional Investors Take Over Ownership and Positive Rating Upgrades from Analysts
AmerisourceBergen, a pharmaceutical services company, has experienced recent changes in its holdings due to shares bought and sold by institutional investors. The list of investors includes United Bank, Raymond James Trust N.A., Synovus Financial Corp, Vontobel Holding Ltd. and Blair William & Co. IL. They acquired additional shares during the last quarter with a vast majority of the company’s stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds amounting up to 84.79%. ABC’s stocks opened at $172.25 on Tuesday with a fifty day simple moving average that equals $164.43 and two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.02; one year high recorded on stock value is $176.62.
Analysts interested in the growth of AmerisourceBergen have been positive about recent market leverages where Robert W Baird has increased the price objective on ABC’s stock from $199 to $201 with an “outperform” rating given by the firm back in February this year whereas Barclays gave it an “overweight” rating with an upsurge in target price from $182 to $189 in May this year alongside StockNews.com issuing a “strong-buy” rating around the same time frame.
AmerisourceBergen’s dividend payout ratio stands at 24.94% for the quarterly dividend recently disclosed by the company that will be paid on Tuesday, May 30th to shareholders of record as of Friday, May 12th allowing them access to a dividend rate of almost 1.13% per annum with its complete value being equal to $1.94.
Noteworthy insider investor activities include major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc who managed to sold 292,792 shares on May 11th worth approximately $50 million while holding over thirty three million shares in AmerisourceBergen reportedly valued around five billion US dollars after the sale. This transaction was revealed in a filing with the SEC that can be accessed online. Similarly, EVP Gina Clark has also sold 1,924 worth of ABC’s shares on March 1st at an approximate value of $4,176,229 while major shareholder Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc reiterates it presence after selling a significant amount of its shares on May 11th this year as well. These transactions have been disclosed in varying forms with each one available for review online to give transparency regarding AmerisourceBergen’s market changes.
