Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,506 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,346 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $8,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

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 transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 67,752 shares of company stock worth $20,160,532 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $275.84 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $297.78 and its 200-day moving average is $290.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.23.

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.

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