Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Buys 2,899 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 11.4%, acquiring an additional 2,899 shares to reach a total of 28,245 shares valued at approximately $7.89 million.
• Amgen announced a quarterly dividend payment of $2.38, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% with a payout ratio of 77.84%.
• The consensus rating for Amgen is currently a "Hold", with a target price of $305.50, following recent upgrades and downgrades from various equities research analysts.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 11.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,245 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Amgen by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,870,453 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,471,790,000 after buying an additional 148,658 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,883,134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,521,339,000 after acquiring an additional 274,488 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,454,164 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,387,695,000 after acquiring an additional 243,306 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Amgen by 1.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,266,009 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,017,525,000 after acquiring an additional 52,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Amgen by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,020,545 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $940,989,000 after acquiring an additional 22,820 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $261.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $305.50.

Amgen Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of AMGN opened at $298.81 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $335.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $287.14 and a 200-day moving average of $287.27.

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. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.97 EPS. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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