MWA Asset Management Raises Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

MWA Asset Management increased its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,469 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Amgen by 547.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,005,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,991,738,000 after acquiring an additional 5,923,915 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 33,125.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,437,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,446,757 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Amgen by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,701,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $844,137,000 after purchasing an additional 162,223 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Amgen by 6,812.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,130,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Amgen by 137.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,381,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $676,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.57.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $279.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $260.52 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $318.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.43.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

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.