Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,583,245 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,204,225 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.67% of Amgen worth $933,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,721,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,741,409,000 after purchasing an additional 339,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after buying an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Amgen by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,475,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,245,881,000 after buying an additional 352,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $1,541,991,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,887,248 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,013,172,000 after acquiring an additional 270,135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $294.39 on Monday. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $304.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.