Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 551 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $305.70 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $164.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $303.16 and its 200 day moving average is $297.69.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.04.

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.