Conning Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,939 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $293.54 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $272.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.51. The company has a market cap of $157.79 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.23.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company 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.