Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Bought by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 26.4%, acquiring an additional 8,317 shares, bringing its total holdings to 39,823 shares, valued at approximately $12.4 million.
• In recent analyst evaluations, Piper Sandler raised Amgen's price target from $328.00 to $342.00, while other firms have adjusted their ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $304.43.
• Amgen has announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, offering a 3.3% yield, with the upcoming payment date set for September 12th.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,823 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,317 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $12,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,870,453 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,471,790,000 after purchasing an additional 148,658 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,128,328 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,336,647,000 after purchasing an additional 685,785 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Amgen by 6.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,883,134 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,521,339,000 after buying an additional 274,488 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 5.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,454,164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,387,695,000 after buying an additional 243,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 43,573.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,140,768,000 after buying an additional 3,653,205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMGN. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.43.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $3.54 on Friday, hitting $283.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,299,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,790,560. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17. The business has a 50 day moving average of $293.85 and a 200 day moving average of $292.60. The company has a market cap of $152.70 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 77.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. This represents a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Amgen 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.