Associated Banc Corp Cuts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 7.6%, owning 24,336 shares valued at $7.58 million after selling 2,010 shares in the first quarter.
• Amgen announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 3.2%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 22nd.
• Equities analysts have given Amgen a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target averaging $307.27, reflecting varying opinions from recent reports.

Associated Banc Corp cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,336 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,010 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Amgen were worth $7,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 87.1% in the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 2,716 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Amgen in the first quarter valued at about $1,331,000. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 7.3% during the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,491 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 914,380 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $238,316,000 after acquiring an additional 19,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canopy Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 4,229 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.23.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $284.70. 2,588,846 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,017,625. The firm's 50-day moving average is $293.20 and its 200 day moving average is $292.48. The company has a market capitalization of $153.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $339.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

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