Welch & Forbes LLC Increases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,625 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $317.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.91. 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 has a market cap of $170.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AMGN. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.95.

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.