Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 2,991 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,433 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,991 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Amgen were worth $12,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $40,566,000 after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 11.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,769 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,758,000 after buying an additional 2,353 shares during the period. Cornerstone Capital Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 3.2% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 106,538 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $34,328,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Amgen during the second quarter worth about $3,354,000. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 82,368 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,736,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 4.2 %

AMGN traded down $12.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $283.61. 5,325,131 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,453,793. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $320.85 and a 200 day moving average of $318.05. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.52 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $335.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Amgen from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.57.

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.