Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires 469,470 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 35,087.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 470,808 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 469,470 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Amgen worth $122,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 94,492 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $24,628,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 72,690 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,946,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Apriem Advisors raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 2,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 313.1% during the 4th quarter. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,912 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 3,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Financial LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $305.82 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $164.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $300.24. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction 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 $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Amgen

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.