Advisory Services Network LLC Cuts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Advisory Services Network LLC lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,865 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hoylecohen LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Amgen by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 4,659 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 29,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $1,110,000. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $1,072,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $305.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,425,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,869,476. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.51. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $211.71 and a 52 week high of $329.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. The company had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. Amgen’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.65.

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.