Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 4,087 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,087 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 0.9% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $22,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $317.82 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a market cap of $170.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.95.

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.