Jonathan P. Graham Sells 25,045 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $296.66 on Wednesday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market cap of $159.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average is $272.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.50.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AMGN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

About Amgen

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.