Royal Fund Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Royal Fund Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,464 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 11.8 %

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $32.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $311.29. 9,644,682 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $274.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.50. The stock has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.60. 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 quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a return on equity of 145.62% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMGN. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink lowered Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.05.

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.