Fred Alger Management LLC Has $5.66 Million Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fred Alger Management LLC decreased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,711 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 259,170 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $5,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Amgen by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $7.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $269.59. 1,628,004 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,781,809. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $293.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.89. The stock has a market cap of $144.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.74, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. Amgen's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Amgen 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.