Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. Takes $3.71 Million Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,245 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,000. Amgen comprises 3.0% of Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in Amgen by 1,292.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,693,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029,058 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $1,541,991,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Amgen by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,182,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $401,913,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $3.70 on Thursday, reaching $282.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,235,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,796,233. 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 firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $284.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.76. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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 3.37%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $329.00 to $328.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.22.

About Amgen

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.