Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 16,380 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 60.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,613 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,380 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $11,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Blossom Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 44,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 0.9 %

AMGN opened at $281.22 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $299.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.28. 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 company has a market cap of $151.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. 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 3.39%. Amgen's payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $308.18.

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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