Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $327.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $287.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $175.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

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.