Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,541,258 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the previous session’s volume of 2,436,477 shares.The stock last traded at $263.69 and had previously closed at $262.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on Amgen from $220.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Amgen from $225.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on Amgen from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.19.

Amgen Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $139.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.31.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 196.60% and a net margin of 30.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were given a dividend of $2.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $8.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.43, for a total transaction of $2,508,305.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,627,748.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Gray Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 3.3% during the second quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.8% in the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 5,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.4% in the second quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 9,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,191,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Apeiron RIA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.3% in the first quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 74.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It focuses on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas. The company's products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Neulasta that reduces the chance of infection due a low white blood cell count in patients cancer; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; Xgeva for skeletal-related events prevention; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization.