Primecap Management Co. CA Has $3.86 Billion Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA has reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 4.7% in the first quarter, owning approximately $3.86 billion of the company’s stock.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Amgen, with current consensus being a "Hold" and an average target price of $307.27.
• Amgen recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 86.86%.

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,388,295 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 613,830 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up 3.2% of Primecap Management Co. CA's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 2.30% of Amgen worth $3,859,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $307.27.

Amgen Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $300.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.88 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $293.06 and its 200 day moving average is $292.45. The stock has a market cap of $161.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.97 EPS. The company's 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 fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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 paid 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 presently 86.86%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.