Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target Raised to $329.00

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $310.00 to $329.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on AMGN. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $295.06 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $272.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.23. Amgen has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $158.60 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.21%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Amgen by 16.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.9% in the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth about $234,000. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.8% in the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 3,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 4.4% in the third quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 5,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

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.