Slow Capital Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Slow Capital Inc. cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,476 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Amgen during the third quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN opened at $282.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $271.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.81. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $152.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.65.

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.