Guardian Investment Management Increases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Guardian Investment Management grew its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for 3.3% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.91.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $272.11 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $146.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $273.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.20.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

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.