Nepsis Inc. Boosts Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Nepsis Inc. grew its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,257 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for 2.5% of Nepsis Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Nepsis Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $17,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Unionview LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.65.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $275.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $148.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $271.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.24. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.90%.

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.