Hancock Whitney Corp Buys 24,953 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp has increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 59.6%, acquiring an additional 24,953 shares, bringing its total holdings to 66,802 shares valued at $20.81 million.
• Amgen's recent earnings report showed a profit of $6.02 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and they forecasted an EPS of 20.62 for the current year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio of 77.84%.

Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 59.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,802 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,953 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Amgen were worth $20,812,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 2,716 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,331,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 16,132 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,026,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.3% during the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,491 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.7% in the first quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.43.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $283.85 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $293.70 and its 200 day moving average is $292.75. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $339.17. 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 market cap of $152.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. The trade was a 14.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.

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