Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 3.4% in the first quarter, now owning 156,905 shares valued at approximately $48.88 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Amgen, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an astonishing 43,573.5% to 3.66 million shares worth about $1.14 billion.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.2% for shareholders of record on August 22nd.

Corebridge Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,905 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,443 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $48,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.43.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $287.71. 1,300,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,804,078. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $339.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.84%.

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.