Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Amgen comprises 1.1% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’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 transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $324.86 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.48. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $174.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

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.