ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has initiated a new investment in Amgen Inc., purchasing 56,104 shares valued at approximately $17.48 million during the first quarter.
• Analyst reports on Amgen indicate mixed ratings, with the stock currently holding a consensus "Hold" rating and an average target price of $307.27.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 56,104 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $17,479,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,693,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029,058 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 43,573.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,768,000 after buying an additional 3,653,205 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,182,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,431,029 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,676,183,000 after acquiring an additional 875,254 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,890,092 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,274,553,000 after acquiring an additional 839,686 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.27.

Amgen Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $300.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $161.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $293.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.45. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $339.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.86%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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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