Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by LGT Group Foundation

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation has significantly reduced its ownership in Amgen Inc. by selling 11,396 shares, resulting in a new holding of 5,881 shares valued at approximately $1.83 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Amgen include a consensus "Hold" with price targets ranging from $288 to $328, indicating a cautious outlook from financial experts.
• Amgen announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, and has a payout ratio of 77.84% as part of its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

LGT Group Foundation cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 66.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,881 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 11,396 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Amgen were worth $1,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.76.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,167,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,876,277. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $293.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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 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 yield of 3.2%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.84%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.