Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Eads & Heald Wealth Management

Eads & Heald Wealth Management lowered its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $274.81 on Wednesday. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $272.95 and its 200-day moving average is $306.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. Amgen’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.91.

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.