Prudential PLC Raises Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Prudential PLC raised its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Rating) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,512 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $11,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dixon Hughes Goodman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Norwood Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, PYA Waltman Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.01% of the company’s stock.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $202.00 to $208.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 9th. TheStreet cut shares of Amgen from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $263.00 to $243.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $238.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $240.40.

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $3,264,435.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,027,492.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $1.25 on Tuesday, hitting $245.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 106,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,365,221. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $198.64 and a 52-week high of $258.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 39.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $241.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.93. The company has a market capitalization of $130.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 27th. The medical research company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.03. Amgen had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 165.95%. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 17.49 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 17th will be issued a $1.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 16th. This represents a $7.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.38%.

About Amgen (Get Rating)

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It focuses on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas. The company's products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Neulasta that reduces the chance of infection due a low white blood cell count in patients cancer; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; Xgeva for skeletal-related events prevention; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization.

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