Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 53,748 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for 2.1% of Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $14,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth about $21,049,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 840 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $16,515,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.1% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 16.8% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN stock opened at $284.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $152.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $271.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.99.

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

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned 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.com, Amgen 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.