Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Has $2.77 Million Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,878 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,103 shares during the period. Amgen comprises approximately 1.8% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial grew 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE raised its stake in Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $6.51 on Wednesday, reaching $299.02. 1,867,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,836,933. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $160.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $284.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 target price (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.82.

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.