BankPlus Trust Department Makes New $2.08 Million Investment in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,984 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,000. Amgen makes up about 0.7% of BankPlus Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Amgen by 263.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,699,000 after purchasing an additional 753,147 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Amgen by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,338,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $609,526,000 after buying an additional 676,598 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Amgen by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,657,183,000 after acquiring an additional 538,545 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,317,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,446,236,000 after acquiring an additional 345,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 573.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 355,872 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $114,666,000 after acquiring an additional 303,016 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $303.01 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $276.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.31. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market capitalization of $162.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

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.