Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stock Position in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 530,258 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,560 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Amgen were worth $148,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,214.3% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 92 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.85.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total value of $299,253.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,251.68. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total value of $2,317,053.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 41,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,120,924.09. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AMGN opened at $317.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $316.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $9.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 162.59%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.58 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $2.52 dividend. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 73.57%.

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.