Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $314.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Amgen Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $289.02 on Friday. Amgen has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $270.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.82. The company has a market cap of $155.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Equities analysts predict that Amgen will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Talbot Financial LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Amgen by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $513,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 9.0% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $204,659,000 after purchasing an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 60,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.