Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $10,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lansing Street Advisors lifted its holdings in Amgen by 1.3% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Unionview LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 7,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 4.6% during the third quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $308.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $280.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.99. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. 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. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Amgen Company 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.