Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 2,700 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,237 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $12,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 72.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 81 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 331.6% in the first quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total value of $1,194,415.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This trade represents a 28.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total value of $521,370.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,666,817.72. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 1.1%

AMGN stock opened at $412.84 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $288.00 and a 1 year high of $447.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $414.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.24. The firm has a market cap of $223.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.41.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.43 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 124.14%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 62.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $303.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Amgen from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $387.93.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and commercial activities focus on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, neuroscience and rare diseases. The company uses biologic research, human genetics and other advanced technologies to develop targeted therapies and supports patients through treatment and disease-management services.

Amgen’s portfolio includes medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases; Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis; Xgeva for cancer-related bone complications; Repatha for certain cardiovascular conditions; Otezla for inflammatory diseases; Aimovig for migraine prevention; Tezspire for severe asthma; and Lumakras for certain cancers.