Farther Finance Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,042 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 828 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $312.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.52. 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 $167.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” 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 issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.04.

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.