Zacks Investment Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,392 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 7,227 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Amgen were worth $23,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMGN. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,588,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $806,000. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,281,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 48.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,083 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter worth $408,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $3.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $277.56. 398,770 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,780,459. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.77, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Amgen's payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $310.57.

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.