Gen Wealth Partners Inc Purchases 1,137 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,982 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 0.8% of Gen Wealth Partners Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Gen Wealth Partners Inc's holdings in Amgen were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Talbot Financial LLC increased its position in Amgen by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $204,659,000 after purchasing an additional 35,785 shares during the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its stake in Amgen by 242.2% in the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $1,105,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $265.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $296.08 and a 200 day moving average of $289.86. The company has a market cap of $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,707 shares of company stock worth $12,819,342 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.23.

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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