Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 8,356 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,356 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for approximately 0.5% of Guggenheim Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $62,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,541,991,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $401,913,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $858,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,884 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Amgen by 263.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,699,000 after purchasing an additional 753,147 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 2.8 %

AMGN stock opened at $293.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $304.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.91.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AMGN shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by 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.