Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Bought by Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.

Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $173,639,000 after buying an additional 5,751 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.5% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,427 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,682,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Amgen by 7.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 285,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $89,887,000 after buying an additional 18,573 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 873 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

AMGN opened at $310.78 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $166.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $281.80 and a 200-day moving average of $299.73.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Amgen from $256.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

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.