Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,002,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,253,816 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 2.6% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,388,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $317.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $292.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $299.02. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $170.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AMGN. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners decreased their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

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.