Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stake Cut by Marcum Wealth LLC

Marcum Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,648 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 804 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $270.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.91.

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.