Owen LaRue LLC Raises Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Owen LaRue LLC grew its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,008 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Owen LaRue LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Talbot Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,153,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 35,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 16,985 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $283.09 on Tuesday. 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 $152.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.11. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.57.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last quarter. 0.69% 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.