Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Willner & Heller LLC

Willner & Heller LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 81.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,925 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the quarter. Willner & Heller LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $272.11 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $273.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.20. 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 $146.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.91.

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.