Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 389,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,135 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $107,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,721,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,741,409,000 after purchasing an additional 339,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,475,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,245,881,000 after acquiring an additional 352,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $1,541,991,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $858,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135,884 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $294.39 on Monday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $304.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.99.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.23%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted 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. 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.04.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.