Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases Shares of 60,844 Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 60,844 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,858,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $317.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.02. The company has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

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.