Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Position Lessened by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,956 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 3,955.0% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 169,748 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $293.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $272.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.88, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 119.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Redburn Partners reduced their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.23.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.