Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $829,000 Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,877 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $264.07 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $277.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. The company has a market cap of $141.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The business had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.09 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Raymond James began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $315.00 to $314.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.38.

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.