Emerald Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,339 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $294.27 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $275.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $300.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 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 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. 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 3.24%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. Bank of America increased their target price on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

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.