Asset Dedication LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Asset Dedication LLC lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,808 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3,955.0% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 169,748 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $280.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $150.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $271.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.15.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.96 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMGN. Wolfe Research began coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.00.

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.