BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $262.99 Million Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 816,191 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 241,219 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for about 0.7% of BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.15% of Amgen worth $262,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in Amgen by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $40,566,000 after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Napa Wealth Management bought a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,104,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,769 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,758,000 after buying an additional 2,353 shares during the period. Finally, Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,413,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $287.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.52 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $318.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.22. The company has a market capitalization of $154.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.96 EPS. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $362.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $333.57.

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.

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