Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,723 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its position in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $329.00 to $328.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.22.

Amgen Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $271.66 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $286.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.98, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 86.86%.

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.