Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $5.27 Million Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,213 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $315.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.82, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

Amgen 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.