Verity Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,212 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Verity Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,810 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,212 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,317,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,446,236,000 after acquiring an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,122,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,893,771,000 after purchasing an additional 103,851 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Amgen by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,532,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,393,718,000 after purchasing an additional 251,876 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,657,183,000 after buying an additional 538,545 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 33,125.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,437,115,000 after buying an additional 4,446,757 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $288.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.11. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

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.