Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,035,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,178,910,000 after buying an additional 165,636 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Amgen by 3.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,977,625 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,875,306,000 after purchasing an additional 255,463 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Amgen by 11.4% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,079,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,365,213,000 after purchasing an additional 518,689 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 15.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,356,359 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $902,055,000 after purchasing an additional 459,340 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,716,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $782,288,000 after purchasing an additional 490,539 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $299.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.71 and a 52-week high of $329.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.59.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. Amgen’s revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays upgraded shares of Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs lowered Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.05.

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.