Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Takes Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 33.0% in the third quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 11.2% during the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,965 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its stake in Amgen by 7.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 4,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Amgen by 17.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 683,873 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $183,799,000 after purchasing an additional 101,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth $239,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $299.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $160.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $275.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.59. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMGN. William Blair raised Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs lowered Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.05.

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.