Argent Trust Co Sells 1,466 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Argent Trust Co lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,017 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,466 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Amgen were worth $6,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blossom Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 10,220 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $0.73 on Tuesday, reaching $294.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,288,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,772,892. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $158.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.