Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Amgen by 13.5%, now holding 5,514 shares valued at approximately $1.72 million.
• A variety of hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Amgen, with Oak Harvest Investment Services notably increasing its holdings by 70.3% during the same period.
• Amgen recently reported earnings of $6.02 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $2.38, reflecting a 3.2% yield for shareholders.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,514 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 863 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 70.3% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 34,133 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,634,000 after acquiring an additional 14,092 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,041,000. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,523 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Biondo Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,799 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 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 stock traded down $1.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $287.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,400,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,120,274. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $293.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.08. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17. The stock has a market cap of $155.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.43.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. This represents a 14.95% 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.

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.