Blue Square Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Blue Square Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 104.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,271 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 7,277 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises 1.9% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $275.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $271.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.99. The company has a market cap of $148.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMGN. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.65.

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.