Liberty Wealth Management LLC Buys 14,047 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 551.9%, acquiring an additional 14,047 shares, bringing its total ownership to 16,592 shares valued at approximately $5.17 million.
• Amgen's recent earnings report showed earnings of $4.90 per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenues reaching $8.15 billion—a 9.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of approximately 86.86%.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 551.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,592 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,047 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $5,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in Amgen by 1.7% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given 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 an average price target of $307.27.

Amgen Stock Up 0.6%

AMGN opened at $296.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. The stock has a market cap of $159.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 2.57 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $292.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.03.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Amgen's payout ratio is 86.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 insiders.

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.

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