Easterly Investment Partners LLC Buys 566 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,514 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises 1.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $13,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Redburn Partners dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $305.71 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $299.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.46. 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 firm has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.