Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,201,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 17,001 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Amgen were worth $573,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $150,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Amgen by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Amgen by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 293,333 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $94,515,000 after acquiring an additional 115,210 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 3.7% during the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.4% during the third quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $306.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $301.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $164.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

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.