Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 3,948 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 13.6%, now owning 25,079 shares valued at approximately $7.81 million.
• Amgen's stock has seen a 5.1% decline recently, with shares opening at $284.67, amid varied analysts' ratings and targets.
• In the latest quarter, Amgen reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $6.02, surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.28, with revenues reaching $9.18 billion.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,079 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,948 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Amgen were worth $7,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,870,453 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $16,471,790,000 after acquiring an additional 148,658 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,182,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,693,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,029,058 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,431,029 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,676,183,000 after acquiring an additional 875,254 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,128,328 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,336,647,000 after acquiring an additional 685,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $284.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $339.17. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.39. The stock has a market cap of $153.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 180.66% and a net margin of 18.96%. 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 firm earned $4.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Amgen's payout ratio is 77.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $328.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.23.

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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