Fayez Sarofim & Co Grows Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,817 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,215 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Amgen were worth $8,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Talbot Financial LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 9.0% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 6.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $204,659,000 after buying an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its stake in Amgen by 242.2% in the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,985 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $277.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $293.88.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.91.

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.