Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Amgen by 1.7% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Amgen by 76.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 37,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,857,000 after acquiring an additional 16,376 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Amgen by 4.4% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners raised its position in Amgen by 7.4% during the third quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 5,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 11.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded up $32.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $311.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,644,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 145.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. SVB Leerink cut shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $271.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.05.

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.