Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB decreased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,149 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Corundum Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 103.3% during the 4th quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 3,996 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 2,030 shares during the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $388,000. Willner & Heller LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 2,925 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 7,854 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,047,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $272.11 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $273.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The firm has a market cap of $146.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 yield of 3.50%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.91.

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.