Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Holdings Cut by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 26,938 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,021,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 7,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Amgen by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,663,000 after buying an additional 3,314 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,083 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,756,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 944 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Amgen

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 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 approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $293.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $303.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month 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 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.24%. 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

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.23.

About Amgen

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.