Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 10,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,763,000. Amgen comprises approximately 1.7% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $1,541,991,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $401,913,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $858,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Amgen by 263.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,699,000 after purchasing an additional 753,147 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AMGN. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $294.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $304.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued 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 forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’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 transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.