Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys New Position in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen Inc., purchasing 228,815 shares valued at approximately $71.3 million during the first quarter of 2023.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Amgen, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $304.43, while corporate earnings surpassed expectations with $6.02 EPS reported.
• Amgen declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.4% and boasting a payout ratio of 77.84%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 228,815 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $71,287,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 0.3% in 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 buying an additional 148,658 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Amgen by 15.4% in 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 buying an additional 685,785 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position 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 worth $1,521,339,000 after buying an additional 274,488 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 243,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,140,768,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. This represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $304.43.

Amgen Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AMGN traded down $3.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $276.90. 864,623 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,774,326. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $293.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.31. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $339.17. The stock has a market cap of $149.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.84%.

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.