Ledyard National Bank Raises Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $9,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BIP Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 2.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $6.40 on Monday, hitting $276.38. 2,678,923 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,820,901. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.71 and a fifty-two week high of $329.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.45. 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 $148.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. SVB Leerink lowered Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.