Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Reduces Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc reduced its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,470 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,180 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for approximately 0.5% of Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 19,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its holdings in Amgen by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 29,527 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,696,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 28,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 839 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $951,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $5.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $267.77. 1,311,782 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,797,103. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $279.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.66. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $143.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 121.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.91.

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.