California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,201,234 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 17,001 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.41% of Amgen worth $573,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $2.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $308.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,081,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,700,811. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $303.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.69. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. UBS Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.04.

Amgen 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.