Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Sells 18,162 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 79.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,804 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 18,162 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Talbot Financial LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $11,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $513,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $11,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen by 6.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $204,659,000 after acquiring an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 3.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 60,769 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $19,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $3.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $267.10. 2,941,738 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,078,903. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $277.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.58 billion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMGN. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $314.91.

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.