Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 1.1% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Unionview LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.8% during the third quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 6,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Blossom Wealth Management raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Amgen by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.95.

Amgen Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $324.86 on Monday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $174.52 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $286.14 and a 200-day moving average of $299.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

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.