Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Kimelman & Baird LLC

Kimelman & Baird LLC trimmed its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Up 0.3 %

AMGN opened at $313.71 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $168.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.12.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. The trade was a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

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.