Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 1,253,816 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,002,125 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,253,816 shares during the period. Amgen makes up approximately 2.6% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 2.42% of Amgen worth $3,388,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,377 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.8% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN opened at $317.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.99 and a 200-day moving average of $299.02. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMGN. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total value of $2,554,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.