Augustine Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 45.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,520 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JSF Financial LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 2,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. grew its stake in Amgen by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 3,375 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,141,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,212,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $296.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $272.59 and a 200 day moving average of $302.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.46 billion, a PE ratio of 39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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. Bank of America raised their price target on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

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.