Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 72,545 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,667,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 72,545 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Amgen worth $519,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,693,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029,058 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,541,991,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 43,573.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,140,768,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,182,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN opened at $277.13 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.02. The company has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim started coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.82.

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.