Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 3,422 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,443 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,422 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $5,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $280.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,994,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,791,608. The stock has a market cap of $150.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.42.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is 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.