Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $422.76

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-three analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $424.66.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Weiss Ratings raised Amgen from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Amgen from $384.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $440.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $450.00 to $415.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $452.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th.

Recent Amgen Headlines

Investors following AMGN have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target to $515 from $460 and maintained a buy rating, signaling further upside in its view. Article
• Positive Sentiment: ETFs added a net $66.8 million of Amgen shares on Nov. 10, indicating institutional fund demand. Article
• Negative Sentiment: One report puts the consensus price target at $422.76, below the recent reference price of $465.67; that gap could temper sentiment despite Argus’ more bullish forecast. Article

Amgen Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $465.67. 2,122,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,720,013. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $425.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $381.17. Amgen has a 1 year low of $312.39 and a 1 year high of $483.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 24.14% and a return on equity of 114.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Amgen will post 23.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 58.47%.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,874,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261,544 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Amgen by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,283,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,656,755 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,390,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,156,000 after acquiring an additional 605,928 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,831,903,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Amgen by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,890,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,408,715,000 after acquiring an additional 512,883 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Amgen

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases. The company’s medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally. Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A. Bradway, who has served as its chief executive officer since 2012.