Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,393 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $283.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $320.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.05. The stock has a market cap of $152.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.52 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.57.

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.