China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $19.18 Million Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 73,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,266 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for 1.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $19,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Hofer & Associates. Inc lifted its holdings in Amgen by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 6,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,790,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 9,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,347,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 8,236 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $274,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

Amgen Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $285.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.53. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $153.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 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.