Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 134,655 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,171,824 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,655 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for approximately 1.1% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $606,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 21.1% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 27.3% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 40,954 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,759,000 after purchasing an additional 8,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Amgen by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 61,712 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,226,000 after buying an additional 7,536 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $329.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $313.41 and its 200-day moving average is $297.25. The stock has a market cap of $177.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 162.59% and a net margin of 19.47%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.58 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Amgen’s payout ratio is 73.57%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total transaction of $1,058,659.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,436,703.50. This trade represents a 30.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total value of $299,253.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,381,251.68. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock valued at $3,674,966. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $261.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $342.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Amgen from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.65.

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.