Capital Research Global Investors Increases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,890,092 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 839,686 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 0.91% of Amgen worth $1,274,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its position in Amgen by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 10,220 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMGN. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $279.07. 1,103,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,783,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $301.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.34.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

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.