J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Grows Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 0.6%, owning a total of 246,355 shares valued at approximately $76.75 million, representing about 1.4% of its total holdings.
• Amgen's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $4.90 earnings per share and $8.15 billion in revenue, marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.4%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38, yielding 3.2%, with an annualized payout of $9.52 and a payout ratio of 86.86%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246,355 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 1.4% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Amgen were worth $76,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew 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. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target 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. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $328.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.00.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Amgen Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of Amgen stock traded down $15.41 on Wednesday, reaching $284.67. The company had a trading volume of 4,564,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,909,786. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $293.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.17. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17. The firm has a market cap of $153.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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