StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN – Get Rating) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AMGN. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $234.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $299.00 to $293.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, November 17th. They issued an underperform rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $253.57.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $253.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.17. Amgen has a 1 year low of $214.39 and a 1 year high of $296.67. The company has a market cap of $135.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $271.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.06.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $2.13 per share. This is a boost from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $1.94. This represents a $8.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 14th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.23%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 545 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.54, for a total transaction of $159,979.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,818,661.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 7,807 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp now owns 2,959 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.5% in the third quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.0% in the third quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,057 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its position in Amgen by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,647 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 75.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Company Profile

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Amgen, Inc is a biotechnology company, which engages in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of human therapeutics. Its products include the following brands: Aranesp, Aimovig, KANJINTI, EVENITY, AMGEVITA, AVSOLA, BLINCYTO, MVASI, Corlanor, Enbrel, EPOGEN, IMLYGIC, Kyprolis, Neulasta, NEUPOGEN, Nplate, Parsabiv, Prolia, Repatha, Sensipar, Vectibix, Otezla, RIABNI, and XGEVA.

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