Independent Advisor Alliance Buys 1,269 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 4.2%, resulting in ownership of 31,545 shares valued at nearly $9.83 million.
• Amgen reported earnings of $6.02 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $5.28 and demonstrating a 9.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of approximately 77.84%.

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,545 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Amgen were worth $9,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMGN. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% during the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 43,573.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,768,000 after buying an additional 3,653,205 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,182,843,000 after buying an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the first quarter worth about $688,868,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,431,029 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,676,183,000 after buying an additional 875,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AMGN. Mizuho raised their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $284.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,189,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,668. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $339.17. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $293.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.97 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Amgen 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.