Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 35.6%, selling 49,548 shares and leaving it with 89,781 shares valued at approximately $27.97 million.
• Amgen Inc. reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $6.02 surpassing estimates, and a revenue of $9.18 billion, reflecting a 9.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, which results in an annualized yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 77.84%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 35.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,781 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 49,548 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Amgen were worth $27,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial boosted 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.47. 2,167,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,128,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $293.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.04. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during 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%. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank cut Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $303.76.

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.