Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,446 Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Amgen by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,469,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,939. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. The company has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.56. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.71 and a 1-year high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.29%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMGN. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.95.

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.