Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Acquires 233,679 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6,147.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 233,679 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for about 5.2% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $61,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Amgen by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after buying an additional 5,751 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 9.5% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,588 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth approximately $876,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Amgen by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 18,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $312.64 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $290.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

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%. Research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen 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.