ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $2.21 Million Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,667 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 8,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 39.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Amgen in the first quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 2.1% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,970,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN traded up $6.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $268.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,380,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,858,917. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $276.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.26. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72. The stock has a market cap of $144.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced 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 return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.35%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Amgen from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.95.

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.