James Reed Financial Services Inc. Invests $235,000 in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

James Reed Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 902 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000. Amgen accounts for about 0.2% of James Reed Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Amgen by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,532,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,393,718,000 after purchasing an additional 251,876 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,657,183,000 after purchasing an additional 538,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,442,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,431,432,000 after purchasing an additional 264,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

AMGN stock opened at $310.78 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $166.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $281.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

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.