Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Position Lessened by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management lowered its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,318 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $306.95 on Monday. 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 moving average of $301.08 and a 200-day moving average of $297.94. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $164.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMGN. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 over the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.