Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,126 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 371 shares during the quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Amgen by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,317,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,446,236,000 after buying an additional 345,537 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,122,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,893,771,000 after acquiring an additional 103,851 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,532,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,393,718,000 after acquiring an additional 251,876 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,657,183,000 after purchasing an additional 538,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,442,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,431,432,000 after purchasing an additional 264,396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $308.06 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $280.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.83. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.