Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Amgen were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,541,991,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $401,913,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $858,020,000 after buying an additional 1,135,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 263.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,699,000 after buying an additional 753,147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $281.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 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, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMGN. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Company 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.