Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Increases Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 67.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,509 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 102.0% during the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 7,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 82,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $21,503,000 after purchasing an additional 7,876 shares during the period. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $375,000. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $549,000. Finally, Aire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,461,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $305.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.51. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $164.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

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.