Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,938 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 3,955.0% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 174,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 169,748 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $293.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.79 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.23.

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.