MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $41.88 Million Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,675 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $41,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of 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 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 0.2 %

Amgen stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,679,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,790,217. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $302.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.45. 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 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 3.43%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $310.57.

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.