Empowered Funds LLC Sells 7,929 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 8.9%, selling 7,929 shares and now owning a total of 81,157 shares valued at approximately $25.3 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and UBS Asset Management have both increased their stakes in Amgen, with Vanguard now holding 52.87 million shares valued at $16.47 billion and UBS upping its position by 15.4%.
• Amgen has recently set a **FY 2025** EPS guidance of **$20.20 - $21.30**, with analysts projecting an average EPS of **$20.62** for the current fiscal year.

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,157 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,929 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $25,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 861 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded down $6.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $276.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,143,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,222. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.49. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $292.98 and a 200 day moving average of $292.03. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $339.17.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.97 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.43.

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.