Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 93.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 153,601 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kelleher Financial Advisors raised its position in Amgen by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 2,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 238,856 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,255,000 after purchasing an additional 7,684 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Davis Capital Management lifted its position in Amgen by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 5,930 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $275.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $271.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 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) last released its earnings results 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. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.96 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 115.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.65.

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.