Brokerages Set Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target at $318.83

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $317.30.

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $264.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $281.35 and a 200-day moving average of $309.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 121.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.