FORA Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC significantly reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by selling 11,075 shares, resulting in a 93.8% decrease in its holdings, now valued at $227,000.
• Amgen's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $6.02, surpassing estimates, with revenue increasing 9.4% year-over-year to $9.18 billion.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share will be paid on September 12th, offering a yield of 3.3% with a payout ratio of 77.84%.

FORA Capital LLC lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 93.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 11,075 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.5% in the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.5% in the first quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 861 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.7% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.2% in the first quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN traded down $4.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $282.26. 1,334,159 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,790,075. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The company has a market capitalization of $151.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.81.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (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 company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMGN. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

About Amgen

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.