Visionary Horizons LLC Increases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Visionary Horizons LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,371 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Amgen comprises approximately 0.7% of Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Amgen during the third quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amgen Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $293.54 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $272.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $157.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group cut their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $313.23.

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.