Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 116,879 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 303,466 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 116,879 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.06% of Amgen worth $79,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Amgen by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $173,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,751 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,682 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,087 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 2.0 %

AMGN opened at $291.16 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $274.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AMGN shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Redburn Partners decreased their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

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.