Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired over 2.2 million shares of Amgen Inc., representing approximately $688.9 million, giving them a 0.41% stake in the medical research company.
• Analyst ratings for Amgen have varied, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to a "hold" while several firms raised their price targets, with the current consensus rating at "Hold" and a target price of $303.76.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38, with an annual yield of 3.3%, indicating a payout ratio of 77.84%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,211,098 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $688,868,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.41% of Amgen as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMGN. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $328.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.76.

Amgen Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $284.98. 2,189,061 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,092,668. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $339.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $293.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $4.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 77.84%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% 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.