Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Amgen stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 94,494 shares and bringing its total holding to 3.81 million shares worth about $1.25 billion.
• Amgen reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.15 versus estimates of $4.77 and revenue of $8.62 billion versus $8.58 billion expected. Revenue rose 5.8% year over year, and the company reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance of $21.70 to $23.10.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share, payable June 5, which implies a 3.0% annualized yield. Meanwhile, Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally cautious, with an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target around $355.19.

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,811,451 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 94,494 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.71% of Amgen worth $1,247,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 275.0% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 97 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $355.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $375.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $355.19.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $339.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $183.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.44. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $267.83 and a fifty-two week high of $391.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $345.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $344.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 137.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.90 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 21.700-23.100 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 22.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,269,023.57. This represents a 15.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Key Amgen News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen expanded its lung cancer pipeline by launching a phase 1b study testing a tarlatamab combination in small cell lung cancer, which could improve the company’s oncology growth prospects if the data are encouraging. Amgen Expands Lung Cancer Pipeline With New Tarlatamab Combo Study
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Amgen as a long-term value/dividend and pipeline story, citing upside potential and analyst support such as an Overweight rating from Piper Sandler, reinforcing confidence in the company’s revenue growth outlook. Why Wall Street Thinks This Dividend Stock Could Jump 30%
• Positive Sentiment: Amgen shareholders reaffirmed the board, executive pay and auditors, which signals governance stability and removes a potential overhang. Amgen Shareholders Reaffirm Board, Pay and Auditors
• Neutral Sentiment: Amgen appointed Thomas Dittrich as chief financial officer, a management update that should be watched for any strategic or capital-allocation changes, but is not clearly a near-term stock catalyst. CFOs On the Move: Week ending May 22
• Negative Sentiment: Investor focus remains on safety concerns around Tavneos after reported patient deaths in Japan prompted restrictions on new prescriptions and raised the risk of withdrawal requests in the U.S., creating a potential earnings and sentiment headwind for Amgen. A Look At Amgen (AMGN) Valuation As Tavneos Safety Concerns And Withdrawal Requests Escalate
• Negative Sentiment: News that doctors in Japan could again prescribe Tavneos to new patients only partially eases concerns, because the drug still carries liver-injury warnings and the broader safety controversy may continue to pressure sentiment. Doctors in Japan can again prescribe an Amgen rare-disease drug to new patients, reversing a recommendation made only days ago following 20 deaths

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.