UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 3,071 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,187 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,071 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Down 2.4 %

Amgen stock opened at $306.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $164.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, 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 sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.