Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 164,515 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 26,151 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Amgen were worth $51,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen by 109.2% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 116,048 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $36,155,000 after buying an additional 60,577 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group boosted its stake in Amgen by 15.8% during the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 1,456 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% in the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 24,772 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,718,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 6.8% in the first quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 868 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.2% during the first quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 984 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AMGN traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $298.25. 1,518,529 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,842,825. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.35. The company has a market cap of $160.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the 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 directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.