Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $333.57.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $289.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $155.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen has a twelve month low of $260.68 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $317.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 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.