Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc reduced its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,180 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 0.5% of Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Unionview LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.91.

Amgen Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $5.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $267.77. 1,311,782 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,797,103. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $143.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $279.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 121.90%.

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.