ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 163,480 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 854,473 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 163,480 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Amgen worth $222,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its position in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.3%

AMGN stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $272.41. 2,588,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,792,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $291.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.09.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $329.00 to $328.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target 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. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.