Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $18 Million Investment in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 69,045 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $17,996,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blossom Wealth Management increased 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 during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Amgen by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 10,220 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.91.

Amgen Stock Down 1.9 %

AMGN traded down $5.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $277.29. 4,371,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,793,267. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $303.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.51. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $149.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Amgen's payout ratio is 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.