Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $588,000 Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,040 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $4,589,900,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Amgen by 486.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 899,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,997,000 after purchasing an additional 745,929 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its position in Amgen by 150.4% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,043,609 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $300,580,000 after buying an additional 626,810 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 989,061 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,869,000 after buying an additional 522,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,079,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,365,213,000 after buying an additional 518,689 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $7.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $307.31. 2,858,665 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,909,728. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.71 and a twelve month high of $329.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $275.65 and a 200 day moving average of $281.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. William Blair upgraded Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. SVB Leerink cut Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.05.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.