Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,353 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $9,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMGN. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the first quarter worth about $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 2,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 104 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $334.85. 1,515,471 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,821,447. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $228.21 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $313.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.84, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays raised shares of Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.63.

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.