Principal Street Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Principal Street Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,435 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,721,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,741,409,000 after buying an additional 339,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,475,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,245,881,000 after acquiring an additional 352,143 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Amgen by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,182,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,693,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,029,058 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $275.85 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.33 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $290.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.18.

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.