Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock Holdings Boosted by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,691,691 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,137 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $713,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rational Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 13.7% in the second quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 199 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 2.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. James T. Borello RIA boosted its stake in Amgen by 13.6% during the third quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Sweeney & Michel LLC increased its position in Amgen by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $405.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $359.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $424.66.

Amgen Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $467.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $424.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.60. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $312.39 and a 52-week high of $483.99.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $10.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 114.99% and a net margin of 24.14%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.47%.

Key Stories Impacting Amgen

Investors following AMGN have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Dazodalibep met the primary endpoint in the 648-patient OASIZ-301 trial, with both dosing regimens showing statistically significant improvement in systemic disease activity. Amgen also reported meaningful improvement in patient-reported symptoms. Sjögren’s currently has no approved treatments, giving the results potential commercial significance if confirmed and approved. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies analysts said, with caveats about cross-trial comparisons, dazodalibep appears more effective than Novartis’ competing investigational drug ianalumab. That could strengthen Amgen’s competitive position, though it is not a direct head-to-head comparison. Clinical Trials Arena article
• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target to $515 from $460 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling increased analyst optimism. Separately, ETFs bought a net $66.8 million of AMGN shares on Nov. 10, indicating institutional demand. Yahoo Finance article

Amgen Profile

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.