Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Position Boosted by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 810 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blossom Wealth Management grew its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Amgen by 1.1% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,377 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Amgen by 2.8% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $306.86 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.92 and its 200-day moving average is $298.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $164.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.