Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 282 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,029 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMGN. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the first quarter worth $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $267.95 on Wednesday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $278.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.49. The company has a market capitalization of $143.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.47 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Amgen from $315.00 to $314.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $286.00 to $326.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.30.

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.