Root Financial Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 769 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 20,113 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,242,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 13,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,642,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Park Capital Management LLC WI purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 15,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,082,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $291.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market cap of $156.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $273.75 and its 200 day moving average is $302.14. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock worth $10,410,596. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen 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.