Vinva Investment Management Ltd Purchases 4,909 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,909 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blossom Wealth Management raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Amgen by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,377 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $318.65 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $294.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market cap of $171.18 billion, a PE ratio of 42.21, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AMGN. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Redburn Partners reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

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.