Tredje AP fonden Boosts Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden has increased its stake in Amgen Inc. by 27.1%, bringing its total holdings to $39.79 million after acquiring an additional 27,214 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Amgen, with Federated Hermes Inc. raising its position by 48.5% during the same period.
• Amgen's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting an EPS of $4.90 compared to the consensus estimate of $4.18, marking a 9.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

Tredje AP fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,707 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,214 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Amgen were worth $39,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the first quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.5% during the first quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 861 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.7% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMGN. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.27.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock traded down $6.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $295.10. 2,251,875 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,367. The company has a market cap of $158.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 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 $340.89.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Company Profile

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.