Canopy Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Canopy Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,229 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Blossom Wealth Management raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 2.8% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $315.22.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $4.57 on Friday, reaching $285.98. 3,466,932 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,777,164. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $153.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.27.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.