Fruth Investment Management Has $453,000 Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,740 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.00.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $307.81 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $165.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. On average, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Amgen 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.