PYA Waltman Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

PYA Waltman Capital LLC boosted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,927 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for 0.9% of PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 33,125.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,437,115,000 after buying an additional 4,446,757 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 6,812.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,130,610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Amgen by 561.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,982 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 worth $270,699,000 after acquiring an additional 753,147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,338,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $609,526,000 after purchasing an additional 676,598 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $297.93 on Friday. 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 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $275.62 and its 200 day moving average is $300.75. The company has a market cap of $160.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.46, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,405 shares of company stock worth $10,410,596. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.