Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 11,804 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,341 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,804 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $13,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Talbot Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $513,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $204,659,000 after purchasing an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 60,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,581,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $280.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $271.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMGN. TD Cowen upped their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.00.

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.