Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,135,884 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.61% of Amgen worth $858,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Talbot Financial LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 9.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $204,659,000 after purchasing an additional 35,785 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,352,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its position in Amgen by 242.2% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,255,000 after buying an additional 16,985 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of AMGN traded down $12.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $296.92. 2,069,509 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,711,413. The business has a 50 day moving average of $303.80 and a 200 day moving average of $297.77. The company has a market capitalization of $159.51 billion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given 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 3.21%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Amgen Company Profile

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.