NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 6,057 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 143.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,285 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,057 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 306.2% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 459 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 19,252 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,814 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 925 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.18.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $272.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,588,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,789,152. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month 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 company's 50-day moving average is $291.00 and its 200-day moving average is $288.28. The company has a market capitalization of $146.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.96 EPS. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 86.86%.

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.