Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 174.3% during the first quarter, now holding 20,328 shares worth approximately $6.33 million.
• Research firms have varied opinions on Amgen, with Citigroup raising its price target to $310.00 and giving a "neutral" rating, while others, like Bank of America and Wall Street Zen, have a less optimistic outlook.
• Amgen announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.4%, with a dividend payout ratio of 77.84%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 174.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,328 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,918 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $6,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 9.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,513,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Amgen by 17.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 221,488 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $69,006,000 after acquiring an additional 33,626 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. raised its holdings in Amgen by 66.2% during the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 8,436 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Amgen during the first quarter valued at about $580,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 12.2% during the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 919 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AMGN. Citigroup raised their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $304.43.

Amgen Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $276.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.66. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $339.17.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.84%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. This represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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