Focus Financial Network Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Focus Financial Network Inc. reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,148 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 953 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Amgen by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 903 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 6,867 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,790,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, MBA Advisors LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 2,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.6 %

AMGN opened at $296.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a market cap of $159.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.29, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $272.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.50.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of 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 represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.