Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 3.0%, now holding approximately 29,002 shares worth about $9,036,000.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, which translates to an annualized payout of $9.52 and a dividend yield of 3.3%.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Amgen, with 12 hold ratings and upward revisions to price targets, the average being $303.76.

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,002 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 912 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for 0.7% of Westpac Banking Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Amgen were worth $9,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.76.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $296.47. 2,167,087 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,876,022. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $293.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.85. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $339.17. The company has a market cap of $159.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

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.