Sarasin & Partners LLP Grows Position in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 9.8%, owning a total of 612,120 shares valued at approximately $170.9 million, making it the 25th largest position in their portfolio.
• Amgen reported a strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $6.02, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $9.18 billion, up 9.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, which amounts to an annualized yield of 3.5%, reflecting a healthy dividend payout ratio of 77.84%.

Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 612,120 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 54,580 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 1.7% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.11% of Amgen worth $170,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,214.3% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 92 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Amgen by 3,433.3% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 106 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AMGN. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.43.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $1.12 on Thursday, reaching $275.83. 3,322,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,911,063. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $339.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $290.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.85.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.84%.

Amgen Company 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.