Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Decreases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $282.95 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $152.09 billion, a PE ratio of 36.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 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 paid a $2.38 dividend. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.65.

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.