UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,128,328 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 685,785 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.95% of Amgen worth $1,336,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its stake 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 valued at $6,255,000 after acquiring an additional 16,985 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 285.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 394,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,820,000 after acquiring an additional 292,137 shares in the last quarter. Aire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $3,531,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $315.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.18.

Amgen Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $275.85 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $148.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $290.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.