Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Barclays PLC in a report issued on Thursday. They presently have a $185.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays PLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.01% from the company’s previous close.
A number of hedge funds have modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,916,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,291,342,000 after buying an additional 953,984 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 16.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,544,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,030,789,000 after buying an additional 1,864,688 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,317,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,187,772,000 after buying an additional 373,979 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,071,028,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.1% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,444,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $964,334,000 after buying an additional 132,632 shares during the period.
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) traded up 0.35% during trading on Thursday, hitting $171.28. The stock had a trading volume of 5,192,043 shares. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $156.79 and a 200 day moving average of $153.26. Amgen has a one year low of $130.09 and a one year high of $181.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.67 billion and a P/E ratio of 18.12.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%.
AMGN has been the subject of several other reports. Vetr downgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $167.71 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Amgen from $193.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Friday, April 8th. Leerink Swann reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, May 18th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.04.
In related news, Director David Baltimore sold 3,312 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.21, for a total transaction of $520,679.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,350 shares in the company, valued at $5,085,743.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean E. Harper sold 21,875 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.99, for a total value of $3,456,031.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,248 shares in the company, valued at $6,674,761.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company. The Company discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers various human therapeutics. The Company’s business segment is human therapeutics. Its marketed products portfolio includes Neulasta (pegfilgrastim); erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), such as Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) and EPOGEN (epoetin alfa); Sensipar/Mimpara (cinacalcet); XGEVA (denosumab); Prolia (denosumab); NEUPOGEN (filgrastim), and other marketed products, such as Vectibix (panitumumab), Nplate (romiplostim) and Corlanor (ivabradine).
