AMF Tjanstepension AB Cuts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 32.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,645 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 38,744 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Amgen were worth $25,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $284.70 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $339.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $293.20 and a 200 day moving average of $292.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 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, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.84%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMGN. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.76.

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.