Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Acquires 6,489 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,718 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,489 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings in Amgen were worth $31,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th 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 period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its position in Amgen by 242.2% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,985 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 285.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 26.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $3,531,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $272.41. 2,588,369 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,789,152. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $291.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.28. 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 market cap of $146.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

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.