Leuthold Group LLC Buys 4,396 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Leuthold Group LLC increased its Amgen stake by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,396 shares and bringing its total holding to 21,402 shares worth about $7.0 million.
• Amgen reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.15 versus $4.77 expected and revenue of $8.62 billion, which beat consensus estimates and rose 5.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share payable June 5, implying a 3.1% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold on average with a $356.15 target price.

Leuthold Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,402 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,396 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $7,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 481,453 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $157,584,000 after buying an additional 43,884 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 160,646 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $45,334,000 after buying an additional 3,619 shares during the last quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $1,669,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 39,778 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $10,888,000 after buying an additional 6,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $2,624,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $355.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Amgen from $432.00 to $427.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Amgen from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "hold" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $356.15.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $326.31 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $267.73 and a 12-month high of $391.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $349.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.65. The stock has a market cap of $176.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.44.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.38. Amgen had a return on equity of 137.41% and a net margin of 20.96%.The business had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.90 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 21.700-23.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 22.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $2.52 dividend. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,237 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.73, for a total value of $400,454.01. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,269,023.57. This represents a 15.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc NASDAQ: AMGN is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen's work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen's commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.

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