Apriem Advisors Acquires 92 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Apriem Advisors raised its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Amgen were worth $682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,825,000 after buying an additional 17,387 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Amgen by 1.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,751 shares during the period. Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 23.5% in the third quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 798 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 6,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $306.38 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $279.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G 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. 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 return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders 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 a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Amgen 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.