LS Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,851 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• LS Investment Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 77.0%, selling 2,851 shares during the second quarter and now holding only 850 shares worth approximately $237,000.
• Amgen's earnings for the most recent quarter exceeded expectations, reporting $6.02 EPS against a consensus estimate of $5.28, with revenues reaching $9.18 billion, a 9.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, reflecting a 3.5% dividend yield, underscoring its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 77.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 850 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,851 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 1,214.3% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 92 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Amgen by 3,433.3% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 106 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 12,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 123 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $271.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $335.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,141,000.91. The trade was a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.15.

Amgen Company 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.

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