Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 10,554 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,554 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,222,743.34. This trade represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $285.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $153.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.27. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.22.

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.