Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,005,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 60,112 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Amgen were worth $280,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the first quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 1,214.3% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 92 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 3,433.3% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 106 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.5%

AMGN opened at $315.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $169.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $315.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.19. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 162.59%. The firm had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 73.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total value of $1,058,659.14. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,436,703.50. The trade was a 30.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total value of $299,253.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,381,251.68. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Daiwa Capital Markets raised their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.10.

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.