Vertex Planning Partners LLC Has $416,000 Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $305.77 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $300.39 and a 200-day moving average of $298.51. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $164.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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 company’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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.