Todd Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 131,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,179 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $34,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC increased its position in Amgen by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMGN. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners reduced their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

Amgen Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $309.72 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $277.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.20. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $166.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

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.