SWS Partners Raises Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

SWS Partners increased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 885 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. SWS Partners’ holdings in Amgen were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 394.5% during the 4th quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,127 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,672,000 after acquiring an additional 47,969 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Amgen by 372.2% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 277,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $72,398,000 after purchasing an additional 218,948 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after buying an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, James Reed Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $235,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN opened at $310.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.95 billion, a PE ratio of 41.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $281.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.73. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

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.