Boston Partners Decreases Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 64.5%, leaving it with 803,405 shares worth approximately $250 million after selling over 1.4 million shares in the first quarter.
• Amgen reported a 9.4% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $9.18 billion, and exceeded analysts' estimated EPS by $0.74.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, with a current payout ratio of 77.84%.

Boston Partners decreased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 64.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 803,405 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,458,208 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.15% of Amgen worth $250,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 3,518 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,478 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $1,051,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 67,350 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $6.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $296.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,167,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,128,585. The company has a 50 day moving average of $293.30 and a 200 day moving average of $293.04. The stock has a market cap of $159.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $339.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.76.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.