Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. First National Trust Co grew its stake in Amgen by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 57,066 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 37,100 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,670,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6,147.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 237,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $61,897,000 after purchasing an additional 233,679 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 3,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $312.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $167.95 billion, a PE ratio of 41.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $290.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.61. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMGN. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen 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 value 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 trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.