Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $1.29 Million Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lessened its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 0.6% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Amgen were worth $1,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lansing Street Advisors raised its position in shares of Amgen by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Unionview LLC grew its position in Amgen by 3.8% in the third quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 0.4% in the third quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 7,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Amgen by 0.6% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 4.6% during the third quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 769 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $303.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.59. 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 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 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, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current 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 represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Redburn Partners reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

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.