Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Erste Group Bank raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Amgen from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.76.

Amgen Stock Up 1.2%

AMGN opened at $379.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.21. Amgen has a 1-year low of $261.43 and a 1-year high of $385.12. The stock has a market cap of $204.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.78.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $9.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 20.98% and a return on equity of 148.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.31 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 21.600-23.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Amgen will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.84%.

Institutional Trading of Amgen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anfield Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 77 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 75 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.