Verity & Verity LLC Acquires 4,895 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Verity & Verity LLC increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Amgen comprises approximately 2.2% of Verity & Verity LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $24,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 33,125.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,437,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446,757 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 6,812.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,130,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 561.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $496,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,982 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 9,058.1% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 756,460 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $223,897,000 after purchasing an additional 748,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Amgen by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,338,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $609,526,000 after buying an additional 676,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $272.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $275.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.49. The company has a market capitalization of $146.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Amgen from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.91.

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.