Bray Capital Advisors Has $3.54 Million Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Bray Capital Advisors reduced its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,581 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,340 shares during the period. Amgen comprises about 1.0% of Bray Capital Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Bray Capital Advisors’ holdings in Amgen were worth $3,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Amgen by 1.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after buying an additional 5,751 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 938 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.5% in the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,539 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $297.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $160.05 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.75.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,405 shares of company stock worth $10,410,596 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.