Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Bought by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,690 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $18,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $306.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a market cap of $164.59 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.20. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two 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, 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company 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 $2.38 dividend. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.