World Equity Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

World Equity Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 983 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 162 shares during the quarter. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Talbot Financial LLC grew its position in Amgen by 5.6% during the fourth 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. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $513,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 2,954 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 2.2 %

AMGN opened at $309.72 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. 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 one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Corporate 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.