UBS Group Raises Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target to $307.00

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $284.00 to $307.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

AMGN has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $271.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. SVB Leerink cut shares of Amgen from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their target price for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Amgen from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $305.05.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $311.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $211.71 and a fifty-two week high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 145.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen will post 19.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company Profile

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.