Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises 2.8% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $29,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 4.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,874,974,000 after buying an additional 2,261,544 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Amgen by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,283,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,656,755 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,390,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,952,156,000 after acquiring an additional 605,928 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,831,903,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,890,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,408,715,000 after acquiring an additional 512,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AMGN opened at $460.42 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $312.39 and a fifty-two week high of $483.99. The firm has a market cap of $249.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $422.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $378.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $10.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 24.14% and a return on equity of 114.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Amgen News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Its earnings-call discussion also emphasized growth and pipeline momentum, supporting the case for continued expansion. Amgen Earnings Call Highlights Growth, Pipeline Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A large real-world study found Repatha lowered heart-attack risk by 20% versus ezetimibe in patients with heart disease. The findings could strengthen the drug’s clinical and commercial position. Repatha real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a Buy view and set a $530 price target; UBS also maintains a Buy rating with a $530 target. Separately, ETFs bought a net $79.8 million of AMGN shares in Wednesday’s session. Scotiabank price target ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain divided: Leerink Partners and Guggenheim have Hold/neutral ratings, while Scotiabank and UBS are more optimistic. The differing views suggest debate about how much of Amgen’s recent gains are already reflected in its valuation. Leerink Partners rating
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Amgen to Hold, adding to the cautious analyst commentary and potentially tempering enthusiasm after the recent rally. Freedom Broker downgrade

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Amgen from $380.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $440.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $450.00 to $415.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.80.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,666,817.72. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Profile

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases.

The company’s medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A.