Sienna Gestion Sells 2,177 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 9.7% in the first quarter, now owning 20,163 shares worth approximately $6.1 million.
• Significant increases in ownership have been seen from other institutional investors, with Capital World Investors growing their stake by over 1,292% in the fourth quarter.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38, representing a 3.3% yield, with a payout ratio of about 77.84%.

Sienna Gestion cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,163 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,177 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Amgen were worth $6,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew its position in Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Amgen by 1,388.9% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $296.47. 2,167,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,128,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $293.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.04. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $339.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. UBS Group lowered their price target on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim began coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Amgen 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.