Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,892 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 33,125.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,446,757 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 6,812.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Amgen by 561.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,117,000 after buying an additional 1,306,982 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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 acquiring an additional 676,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 11.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,657,183,000 after acquiring an additional 538,545 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $296.66 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $272.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.50. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a market cap of $159.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.