Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 888 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,504 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up 1.3% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BIP Wealth LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in 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 during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $309.38. 1,000,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,340,821. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.96 billion, a PE ratio of 44.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $218.44 and a 12-month high of $329.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $303.81 and its 200-day moving average is $292.91.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 156.21% and a net margin of 12.74%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus boosted their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.