Souders Financial Advisors Sells 4,378 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Souders Financial Advisors reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,796 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,378 shares during the quarter. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Amgen were worth $2,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $312.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $282.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.