Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. Grows Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,869 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 2.5 %

Amgen stock traded down $7.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $283.78. 2,939,845 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,787,795. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.59, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $300.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.08. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $310.57.

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.