Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 53,261 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,009 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $13,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Talbot Financial LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,153,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Amgen by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $513,033,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 9.0% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,578,000 after buying an additional 2,954 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 6.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $204,659,000 after buying an additional 35,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 60,769 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $19,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $6.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $304.33. 1,792,375 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,075,920. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $163.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.56. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $275.62 and its 200-day moving average is $300.75.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $2.38 dividend. This is a boost from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $314.09.

Amgen 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.