Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 21.6%, selling 34,342 shares and now holding 124,510 shares valued at approximately $38.8 million.
• Amgen reported a Q2 EPS of $6.02, surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.28, with revenues increasing by 9.4% year-over-year to $9.18 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 77.84%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,510 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 34,342 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $38,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Amgen by 1,388.9% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMGN. Mizuho upped their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.43.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $2.10 on Friday, hitting $287.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,302,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,510. The business has a 50 day moving average of $293.13 and a 200 day moving average of $292.92. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $339.17. The company has a market cap of $154.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total value of $376,286.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,000.91. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% 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.