Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,516 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,991 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock traded down $11.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $299.48. 4,717,087 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,915,562. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $275.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.59. The firm has a market cap of $160.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60. 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 fifty-two week low of $211.71 and a fifty-two week high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced 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. Amgen had a return on equity of 156.21% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors 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 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 128.57%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. SVB Leerink cut Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. William Blair raised Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays upgraded Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.05.

Amgen 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.