Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,268 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,430 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,268 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its position in Amgen by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $265.86 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.50. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.23.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,707 shares of company stock valued at $12,819,342 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.