Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Bought by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC has increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 9.1%, amounting to a total of 47,600 shares valued at approximately $14.83 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their stakes in Amgen, with First Pacific Financial increasing theirs by 304.5%, while 76.5% of the company's stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Amgen reported impressive earnings, with an EPS of $6.02 exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share with a yield of 3.3%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,600 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $14,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $293.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,643,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,104,120. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $339.17. The stock's 50 day moving average is $293.43 and its 200 day moving average is $293.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.76.

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.