Woodline Partners LP Has $93.59 Million Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,088 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 51,138 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up 0.6% of Woodline Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.07% of Amgen worth $93,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its position in Amgen by 242.2% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,255,000 after buying an additional 16,985 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Amgen by 285.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 394,489 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $102,820,000 after buying an additional 292,137 shares during the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC increased its position in Amgen by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,461,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $3,531,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.18.

Amgen Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AMGN opened at $275.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $290.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 86.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Amgen Company 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.

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