Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Sold by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 10.1% in the first quarter, now holding 214,286 shares valued at approximately $66.76 million.
• Amgen reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $9.18 billion, which is a 9.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.3%, payable on September 12th.

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,286 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 24,052 shares during the period. Amgen makes up approximately 0.6% of Guggenheim Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $66,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RB Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.2% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 15,275 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,759,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 12.2% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 14,738 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 43.8% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 51,541 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $16,058,000 after purchasing an additional 15,711 shares during the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 955 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PKS Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $304.43.

Amgen Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AMGN traded up $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,302,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,510. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $339.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $293.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.92. The company has a market cap of $154.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 2.48 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.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.97 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.84%.

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.