Caxton Associates LP Sells 3,820 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Caxton Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 67.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,854 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,820 shares during the quarter. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Amgen were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,693,042,000 after buying an additional 6,029,058 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,541,991,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,182,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $401,913,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock traded down $6.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $265.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,326,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,766,734. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $296.08 and a 200 day moving average of $289.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,222,743.34. The trade was a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,707 shares of company stock worth $12,819,342 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.23.

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.