Greystone Financial Group LLC Acquires 2,552 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,089 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for about 2.1% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $13,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Amgen by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 103.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 91,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,321,000 after acquiring an additional 46,417 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 89,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,972,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tamar Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Tamar Securities LLC now owns 65,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $20,453,000 after purchasing an additional 8,562 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total value of $299,253.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,381,251.68. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was 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 owned 7,225 shares in the company, valued at $2,436,703.50. This trade represents a 30.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Amgen from $342.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Amgen from $329.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $261.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.35.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $327.64 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $326.08 and its 200 day moving average is $302.97. The firm has a market cap of $176.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.28. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $257.05 and a 52-week high of $346.38.

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

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $2.52 dividend. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. 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. Amgen’s payout ratio is 73.57%.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.