WealthTrust Axiom LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,793 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $274.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,058,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,798,923. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $147.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.71 and a 12 month high of $329.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.13 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Raymond James started coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, April 12th. SVB Leerink downgraded Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.