Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Sells 370 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,842 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 3,955.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 169,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $284.02 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $271.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.99. The company has a market capitalization of $152.67 billion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.96 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.00.

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.