CSM Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

CSM Advisors LLC boosted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,092 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the quarter. CSM Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $3,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter worth about $1,588,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $806,000. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,281,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,083 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $408,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $278.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $149.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a PEG 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. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $302.25 and its 200 day moving average is $293.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America raised 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.57.

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.

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