Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,099 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Amgen were worth $37,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Keynote Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors raised its position in Amgen by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unionview LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $270.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $302.02 and its 200 day moving average is $314.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.80 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $145.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders 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 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Amgen from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.68.

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.