Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,135,884 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.61% of Amgen worth $858,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $306.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $301.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.94. The stock has a market cap of $164.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.