Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 4,038 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 62.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,550 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,038 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 80,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,084,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 2,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 92,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $24,107,000 after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $272.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $273.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company 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 $2.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.91.

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.