Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 149 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $315.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $169.24 billion, a PE ratio of 41.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $296.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.14. 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 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.