Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 561.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,306,982 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises about 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.29% of Amgen worth $496,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 6.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,088,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,809,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045,657 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Amgen by 547.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,005,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,991,738,000 after buying an additional 5,923,915 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,701,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $844,137,000 after acquiring an additional 162,223 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 6,812.4% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 137.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,381,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $676,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,007 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $314.60. 457,136 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,427,740. The firm has a market cap of $168.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $325.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.12. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.70 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.00 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMGN. Truist Financial downgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $333.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.55.

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.