Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 23.2%, now holding shares worth $11.75 million following a sell-off of 11,547 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Amgen's stock, with new price targets ranging from $261 to $317, positioning the stock mainly as a "hold" with a consensus average target price of $303.76.
• Amgen is scheduled to pay a quarterly dividend of $2.38 on September 12, representing an annualized payout of $9.52 and a 3.3% dividend yield.

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 23.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,283 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 11,547 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $11,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.76.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $2.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $295.55. 1,854,726 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,862,550. 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 $159.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.15.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 77.84%.

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.