Centre Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 29,082 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $9,060,000. Amgen makes up 2.3% of Centre Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,721,795 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $13,741,409,000 after purchasing an additional 339,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,475,032 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,245,881,000 after acquiring an additional 352,143 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 40.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,029,058 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $0.81 on Monday, hitting $288.99. 843,923 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,799,153. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $155.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $283.46 and a 200 day moving average of $285.23.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMGN. Mizuho boosted their target price on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Amgen from $329.00 to $328.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Guggenheim started coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $309.22.

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.