Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Kensington Investment Counsel LLC

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,050 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up approximately 1.6% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,267 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 4,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,597 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, 1ST Source Bank lifted its holdings in Amgen by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 2,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $317.17 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $292.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.02. The stock has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.01, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Partners reduced their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

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.