Simplicity Solutions LLC Reduces Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Simplicity Solutions LLC cut its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 37,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,857,000 after acquiring an additional 16,376 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 5,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,941 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AMGN. StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $329.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.30.

Amgen Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $267.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,140,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,594,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $211.71 and a one year high of $329.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $280.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

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.