Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,947 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 949 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $6,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $581,000. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $8,645,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded down $16.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $272.44. 5,762,613 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,830,576. The business's fifty day moving average is $281.39 and its 200 day moving average is $286.10. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $329.00 to $328.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $309.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.