Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,585 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,086 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $271.69 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $291.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results 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. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 86.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $315.00 target price (down previously from $319.00) 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

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.