Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Buys 218,948 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 372.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 277,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 218,948 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for approximately 1.7% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Amgen were worth $72,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,317,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,446,236,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after buying an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,122,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,893,771,000 after buying an additional 103,851 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 11.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,657,183,000 after buying an additional 538,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Amgen by 6.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,442,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,431,432,000 after acquiring an additional 264,396 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $310.78 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $281.80 and its 200 day moving average is $299.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $166.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.16, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMGN. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.