Aristotle Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,888,357 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 16,789 shares during the period. Amgen makes up 2.0% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,013,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,083 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,156,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $699,910,000 after buying an additional 76,798 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $204,659,000 after buying an additional 35,785 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Amgen by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,223 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, General Partner Inc. raised its stake in Amgen by 119.0% during the 4th quarter. General Partner Inc. now owns 276 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Amgen Stock Down 0.9 %

AMGN stock opened at $281.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.20 billion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.22.

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.