Trexquant Investment LP Increases Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5,813.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 132,427 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises about 0.4% of Trexquant Investment LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Amgen were worth $35,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its holdings in Amgen by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 2,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $783,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 682.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 50,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,340,000 after acquiring an additional 44,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,674,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $311.55 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $167.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $301.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.81. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company 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 3.06%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

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.