Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 6,119 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 235.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 6,119 shares, bringing its total holdings to 8,720 shares valued at approximately $2.72 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Amgen, with Capital International Investors raising theirs by 40.1% and Capital World Investors by a remarkable 1,292.0% in the fourth quarter.
• Amgen recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.2%, and reported strong quarterly earnings of $4.90 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 235.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,720 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,119 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,254 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 0.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,024,152 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $319,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 277,397 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $86,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,308 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 412.7% in the 1st quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 2,953 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $15.41 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $284.67. The company had a trading volume of 4,575,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,893,718. The company has a fifty day moving average of $293.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $339.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 180.66%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Erste Group Bank lowered Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.23.

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.