Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,002,822 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 14,456 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.19% of Amgen worth $261,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Amgen by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $38,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,387 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Amgen by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 197,457 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $63,402,000 after acquiring an additional 15,564 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $173,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $352,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 73.2% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $294.27. The company had a trading volume of 2,806,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,145,679. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $274.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $314.09.

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.