Hall Laurie J Trustee Lowers Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Hall Laurie J Trustee decreased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,120 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $272.11 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $273.95 and its 200 day moving average is $307.20. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $146.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMGN shares. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.91.

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.