Cornerstone Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Amgen by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 519,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $135,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 3,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $469,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $327.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $287.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.50.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value 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 represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.