Citigroup Initiates Coverage on Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $335.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.57.

Amgen Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $283.61 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $320.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.65. Amgen has a 1 year low of $260.52 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The stock has a market cap of $152.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amgen

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc grew its stake in Amgen by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 6,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors increased its holdings in Amgen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.