Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AMGN. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $311.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.37 billion, a PE ratio of 41.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $301.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.81.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management raised its position in Amgen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.