Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,404 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.8% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,474,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in Amgen by 107.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $327.36 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $287.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.86 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week 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 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%. On average, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.04.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.