Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Position Raised by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Bell Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 142.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 11,010 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Blossom Wealth Management grew its position in Amgen by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 2.8% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $294.39 on Monday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $304.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.99. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’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 $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

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.