Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Purchases 172,542 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,272,425 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 172,542 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises 1.8% of Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.24% of Amgen worth $331,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.04.

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Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $305.60. 792,712 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,700,790. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $302.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.63. The company has a market cap of $164.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Amgen's payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.69% 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.