Ellerson Group Inc. ADV Buys 80 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for 2.8% of Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BIP Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 11.8 %

Shares of AMGN traded up $32.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $311.29. The stock had a trading volume of 9,644,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $274.95 and its 200 day moving average is $281.50. The firm has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 145.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, SVB Leerink lowered Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $305.05.

Amgen Company 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.