Sachetta LLC Reduces Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sachetta LLC lessened its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,766 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Sachetta LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Amgen by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $198,000. Encompass More Asset Management increased its position in shares of Amgen by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 1,418 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,716 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $275.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $306.24. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.65.

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.