Ethic Inc. Grows Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,393 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $12,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Amgen by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,721,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,741,409,000 after acquiring an additional 339,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,475,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,245,881,000 after acquiring an additional 352,143 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Amgen by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,182,843,000 after buying an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,693,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,029,058 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $272.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $297.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.23. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $146.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,707 shares of company stock worth $12,819,342. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.23.

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.