WASHINGTON TRUST Co Has $4.48 Million Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 62.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 29,046 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $1,510,000. DeDora Capital Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 5,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $191,000. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC increased its position in Amgen by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $291.16 on Friday. 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 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market capitalization of $156.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $273.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.14.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

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.