Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,490 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 2.2% of Verity & Verity LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $24,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 33,125.4% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 4,446,757 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 6,812.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,130,610,000 after buying an additional 2,486,882 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 561.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $496,117,000 after buying an additional 1,306,982 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 9,058.1% during the second quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 756,460 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $223,897,000 after acquiring an additional 748,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Amgen by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,338,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $609,526,000 after acquiring an additional 676,598 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $2.68 on Friday, hitting $272.11. 3,244,015 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,140,853. The company's fifty day moving average is $273.95 and its 200 day moving average is $307.20. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $146.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $314.91.

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.