Bensler LLC Sells 3,489 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Bensler LLC cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,215 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,489 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $283.28 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.81. The company has a market cap of $152.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.00.

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.