Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Acquired by Guardian Capital LP

Guardian Capital LP boosted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,248 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,693,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,029,058 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,541,991,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,182,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $401,913,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $288.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $155.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.08.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.30%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.57.

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.