Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,108 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $11,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 11.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded up $32.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $311.29. 9,644,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. The stock has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $274.95 and a 200 day moving average of $281.46.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 145.62% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. SVB Leerink downgraded Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.05.

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.