Forte Capital LLC ADV Raises Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,134 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 11.7% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 344,853 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $92,683,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV purchased a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $360,000. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ grew its stake in Amgen by 6.8% during the third quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 3,588 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $32.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $311.29. 9,644,682 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,279,398. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $274.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.71 and a twelve month 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. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 145.62% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.