Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Price Target Raised to $329.00 at Piper Sandler

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) had its price target upped by Piper Sandler from $310.00 to $329.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $294.79 on Monday. Amgen has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $158.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $272.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.77.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen will post 20.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.