Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 8,356 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 8,356 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 0.5% of Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $62,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Norges Bank bought a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $1,541,991,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $401,913,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,291,975 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $858,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Amgen by 263.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,699,000 after purchasing an additional 753,147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $293.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.91. The stock has a market cap of $158.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Amgen from $315.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.