Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 7.6%, selling 999,662 shares and owning 2.27% of the company worth approximately $3.8 billion.
• Amgen's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $6.02 EPS against a consensus estimate of $5.28, with revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, representing a yield of 3.3%, with an ex-dividend date of August 22nd.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,205,942 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 999,662 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.27% of Amgen worth $3,802,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew its position in Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its position in Amgen by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock traded up $3.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $288.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,802,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,777. The company has a market capitalization of $155.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $339.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $293.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.97 EPS. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. Mizuho increased their price target on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.76.

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.