Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,525 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,732 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Amgen worth $88,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,721,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,741,409,000 after buying an additional 339,522 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,317,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,446,236,000 after purchasing an additional 345,537 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Amgen by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,122,889 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,893,771,000 after purchasing an additional 103,851 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $1,541,991,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN opened at $305.77 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Company 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.