Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Gradient Capital Advisors LLC

Gradient Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,257 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. Gradient Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Amgen by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 3.9% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at $234,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in Amgen by 319.8% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 40,355 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,003,000 after acquiring an additional 30,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $296.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $272.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.50.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 119.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

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.