United Services Automobile Association Sells 140 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

United Services Automobile Association trimmed its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $316.04 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $297.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.57. The firm has a market cap of $169.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.