Franklin Resources Inc. Has $712.09 Million Stake in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Franklin Resources cut its Amgen stake by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, but still held 2.18 million shares valued at about $712.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 76.5% of Amgen shares held by institutional investors, and several other funds recently increased or trimmed their positions.
• Analysts currently have a Hold consensus on Amgen, with an average price target of $353.81, while the company also reported quarterly earnings and revenue that slightly beat expectations.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,175,586 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 466,486 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.40% of Amgen worth $712,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 29.3% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 25,859 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,220,000 after buying an additional 5,853 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 11.3% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 5.1% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 54,152 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,120,000 after buying an additional 2,611 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $389.00 price target on Amgen in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Amgen from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $353.81.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $345.66 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The business's 50-day moving average price is $341.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.51. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.83 and a 12-month high of $391.29. The stock has a market cap of $186.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.42.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.38. Amgen had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 137.41%. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.90 EPS. Amgen's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 21.700-23.100 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 22.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.73, for a total value of $400,454.01. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,009 shares in the company, valued at $2,269,023.57. The trade was a 15.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc NASDAQ: AMGN is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen's work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen's commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.

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