Larson Financial Group LLC Sells 40 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Larson Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 310 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $89,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.95.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $269.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $281.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.71 and a fifty-two week high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The business had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.09 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

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.