Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 7,932 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC sold 7,932 shares of Amgen, reducing its stake by 15.6% to 43,014 shares, valued at approximately $13.4 million.
• Amgen's recent quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations, reporting $6.02 EPS against a consensus estimate of $5.28, contributing to a 9.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 22nd.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,014 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,932 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $13,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,996,000. F M Investments LLC increased its position in Amgen by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 17,411 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,538,000 after buying an additional 3,818 shares during the period. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its position in Amgen by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 1,954 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 81.2% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $303.76.

Amgen Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $3.14 on Monday, reaching $285.09. 1,854,297 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,059,949. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $339.17. 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 company has a market capitalization of $153.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $293.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.88.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

About Amgen

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.