Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Holdings in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 1.4% during the first quarter, acquiring 1,195 additional shares to hold a total of 88,490 shares, valued at approximately $27.57 million.
• Amgen recently reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $6.02, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $5.28, and its revenue grew by 9.4% year-over-year, amounting to $9.18 billion for the quarter.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38, indicating a dividend yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio currently at 77.84%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,490 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Amgen comprises about 1.1% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $27,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.5% during the first quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 861 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.7% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% in the first quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMGN shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.43.

Amgen Trading Down 2.2%

AMGN traded down $6.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $276.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,143,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,855,134. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The firm has a market cap of $148.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.66. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,000.91. This represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.