HealthInvest Partners AB Decreases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

HealthInvest Partners AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,414 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,551 shares during the period. Amgen comprises about 3.3% of HealthInvest Partners AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. HealthInvest Partners AB’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Amgen by 16.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.2% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 25,033 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,066,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Amgen by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $303.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. 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 one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $276.27 and a 200 day moving average of $300.31.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company 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.