Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 267,234 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,129,122 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 267,234 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $294,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its stake in Amgen by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 2,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 682.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 50,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,340,000 after buying an additional 44,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.8% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,674,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $311.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $301.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $167.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.26, 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.