Avity Investment Management Inc. Has $26.79 Million Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,766 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,865 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for approximately 2.1% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $26,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,591 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,409,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 7,585 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,147 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 34,744 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,056,000 after acquiring an additional 3,340 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 12,828 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,344,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.91.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $1.84 on Wednesday, hitting $268.94. 3,731,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,142,482. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $277.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.03. 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 company has a market cap of $144.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 121.90%.

Amgen Company 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.