Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Increases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,422 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $10,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Up 11.8 %

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $32.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,644,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,894,568. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $274.51 and a 200-day moving average of $281.33. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.71 and a 52-week high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, April 12th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, SVB Leerink lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.