Smart Portfolios LLC Sells 40 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Smart Portfolios LLC cut its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,989 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Smart Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 143,836 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,489,000 after buying an additional 9,254 shares in the last quarter. Summit X LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $455,000. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $1,248,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 26,404 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,882,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $11,240,533.68. The trade was 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $318.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.43.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

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.