Sanders Morris Harris LLC Takes $1.21 Million Position in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $319,000. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 4,009 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Amgen by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 47,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.4%

AMGN stock opened at $326.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $175.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.50.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a return on equity of 162.59% and a net margin of 19.47%.The company had revenue of $9.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $2.52 per share. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.85.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total transaction of $2,317,053.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,120,924.09. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total transaction of $1,058,659.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,436,703.50. The trade was a 30.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company 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.