Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock: Hennessy Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors reduced its Amgen stake by 39.1% in the third quarter, selling 7,470 shares and retaining 11,650 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• Amgen reported quarterly EPS of $6.29, beating estimates of $5.62, while revenue rose 9.5% year over year to $10.05 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share, equivalent to an annualized $10.08 payout and a 2.2% yield; analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold” with a $389.71 target price.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 39.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,650 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,470 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Amgen by 4.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,874,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261,544 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 38.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,283,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,656,755 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 12.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,390,910 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,952,156,000 after acquiring an additional 605,928 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $1,831,903,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,890,189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,408,715,000 after purchasing an additional 512,883 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Down 0.1%

AMGN stock opened at $465.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $251.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $292.12 and a twelve month high of $475.64. The stock's 50 day moving average is $420.49 and its 200-day moving average is $375.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.62 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.43 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. Amgen's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $2.52 per share. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Amgen's payout ratio is currently 62.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMGN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $362.00 to $359.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 18th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $375.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $389.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total value of $1,194,415.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares in the company, valued at $2,951,854.40. This represents a 28.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total transaction of $825,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,098.28. The trade was a 23.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,222 shares of company stock worth $2,540,926 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research focuses on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, nephrology and neuroscience.

The company's products include biologic and specialty medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases, Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis, Xgeva for skeletal-related complications, Repatha for cardiovascular risk reduction, Otezla for inflammatory conditions, Tezspire for severe asthma, Blincyto for certain blood cancers, and Lumakras for specific cancers.

Founded in 1980, Amgen is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.

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