Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Purchases 3,306 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,604 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 1.6% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $21,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Amgen by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,317,018 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,446,236,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,122,889 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,893,771,000 after purchasing an additional 103,851 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,532,629 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,393,718,000 after acquiring an additional 251,876 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 11.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,657,183,000 after acquiring an additional 538,545 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 33,125.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,437,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $5.08 on Friday, hitting $303.01. 3,260,757 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,124,757. The company's 50 day moving average price is $276.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $300.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $162.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $314.09.

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.