Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Holdings Cut by Cornerstone Capital Inc.

Cornerstone Capital Inc. lowered its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,277 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 10,261 shares during the period. Amgen comprises about 2.6% of Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Cornerstone Capital Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $25,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its position in Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $310.57.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $279.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,053,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,176,993. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $301.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.34. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen's payout ratio is 126.09%.

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.