Zacks Investment Management Trims Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,227 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $23,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $282.64 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $303.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.82. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. 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 cap of $151.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.91.

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.