Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Newly Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 143,877 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,952,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 38.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,283,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,656,755 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,831,903,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,102.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,742,271 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $993,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514,254 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,874,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 702.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,535,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $647,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,010 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $461.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $420.83 and a 200 day moving average of $376.16. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $294.48 and a 52 week high of $475.64.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $0.66. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. The business had revenue of $10.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $420.00 to $452.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus raised their price objective on Amgen from $375.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Amgen from $435.00 to $430.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Amgen from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $389.71.

Trending Headlines about Amgen

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen earned $6.45 per share on $10.37 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates; revenue rose 8.5% year over year. The company also raised its outlook, with full-year revenue guidance slightly above the consensus estimate. Amgen Raises Outlook After 3Q Profit, Sales Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Sales growth in cholesterol and cancer medicines helped support the quarter, while the company’s broader growth portfolio was reported to be offsetting pressure from the denosumab product cycle. Amgen third quarter sales rise 8%, led by cholesterol, cancer drugs
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell despite the earnings beat as investors focused on biosimilar competition facing key products, which could pressure future sales. Amgen beats estimates but shares dip on biosimilar concerns
• Negative Sentiment: The FDA issued Amgen a warning letter over promotion of its cancer drug Vectibix, adding a regulatory and reputational concern for investors. Amgen Gets FDA Warning Letter Over Misleading Vectibix Promotion

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,666,817.72. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total value of $1,194,415.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This trade represents a 28.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,222 shares of company stock worth $2,540,926 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research focuses on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, nephrology and neuroscience.

The company’s products include biologic and specialty medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases, Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis, Xgeva for skeletal-related complications, Repatha for cardiovascular risk reduction, Otezla for inflammatory conditions, Tezspire for severe asthma, Blincyto for certain blood cancers, and Lumakras for specific cancers.

Founded in 1980, Amgen is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.