Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Plans $2.38 Quarterly Dividend

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 4th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of 2.38 per share by the medical research company on Friday, June 6th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%.

Amgen has increased its dividend by an average of 8.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Amgen has a payout ratio of 44.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Amgen to earn $21.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $9.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.5%.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $312.19. 3,819,193 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,546,089. Amgen has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $167.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $281.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.73.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AMGN. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Amgen stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

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.