DeDora Capital Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

DeDora Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,601 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $191,000. White Pine Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp lifted its holdings in Amgen by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 12,261 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palacios Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,405,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,405 shares of company stock worth $10,410,596 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN opened at $291.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $273.75 and a 200 day moving average of $302.14. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $156.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

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.