NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Trims Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• The NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan reduced its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 12.5% during the first quarter, owning 7,000 shares valued at $2.18 million after selling 1,000 shares.
• Institutional investors collectively own 76.50% of Amgen's stock, with Capital International Investors significantly increasing its stake by 40.1% in the last quarter.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan cut its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan's holdings in Amgen were worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,495,503 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,292.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 15.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 15.4% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 685,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,890,092 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,274,553,000 after purchasing an additional 839,686 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMGN. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.27.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $300.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 405,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,887,677. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $292.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.40. The company has a market cap of $161.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.49. 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 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Amgen's payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

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.