Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 50 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Amgen makes up approximately 1.4% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,035,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,178,910,000 after buying an additional 165,636 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,977,625 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,875,306,000 after buying an additional 255,463 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,437,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,461,297,000 after buying an additional 61,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,556,912,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 11.4% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,079,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,365,213,000 after buying an additional 518,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $269.98. 2,436,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,035,139. The business’s 50 day moving average is $275.10 and its 200-day moving average is $281.45. The company has a market capitalization of $144.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.71 and a 1-year high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 72.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMGN. Raymond James began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.95.

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.