Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Has $850,000 Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $297.93 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $275.62 and its 200-day moving average is $300.75. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $160.05 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

Amgen 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.