Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,267 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,894,000 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 stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMGN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.91.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock traded up $7.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $270.19. 3,364,979 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,085,018. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $145.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $279.10 and its 200 day moving average is $308.66.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.90%.

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.