Neuberger Berman Group LLC Cuts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 8.9%, selling 12,327 shares, leaving it with 126,174 shares valued at approximately $39.3 million.
• Amgen recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $6.02, exceeding estimates of $5.28, alongside a revenue increase of 9.4% year-over-year, totaling $9.18 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.3%, set to be paid on September 12th to shareholders on record as of August 22nd.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC cut its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,174 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 12,327 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $39,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Capital World Investors raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,693,042,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029,058 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 43,573.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,768,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653,205 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 40.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $688,868,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Amgen by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,431,029 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,676,183,000 after buying an additional 875,254 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded up $6.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $296.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,167,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,128,585. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $293.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.04. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $339.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is 77.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.76.

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.