Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,913 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction 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 approximately $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $315.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $296.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

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.