Sovran Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,273 Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,273 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $3,212,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,199 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,889 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 903 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN traded down $5.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $291.16. 2,189,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,196,996. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $156.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $274.12 and its 200 day moving average is $301.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen's payout ratio is currently 119.21%.

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.