Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,986 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 806 shares during the quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $278.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $149.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $302.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.45. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued 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 3.42%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.57.

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.