Tucker Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Tucker Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 799 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Blossom Wealth Management raised its stake in Amgen by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Amgen by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $306.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $301.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.38. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Amgen Company 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.