Americana Partners LLC Sells 888 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Americana Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,915 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Talbot Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Amgen by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $513,033,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $204,659,000 after acquiring an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 60,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $291.16 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its 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, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.