Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,904 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,368 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $305.82 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $279.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.24. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.51, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

Amgen 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.