Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Rating Increased to Hold at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AMGN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.57.

Amgen Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $283.61 on Wednesday. Amgen has a 12-month low of $260.52 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $321.59 and a 200-day moving average of $318.00. The firm has a market cap of $152.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sender Co & Partners Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 74.3% in the third quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. now owns 2,217 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,093 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $1,312,000. Finally, Conway Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $306,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amgen

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.