Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock Position Trimmed by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,237 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $12,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its holdings in Amgen by 72.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 81 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 331.6% during the 1st quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Steph & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $412.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $414.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $288.00 and a 52-week high of $447.03.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical research company reported $6.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $10.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.43 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.300-23.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 22.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a $2.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 62.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $303.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $435.00 to $430.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Amgen from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $387.93.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total value of $521,370.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,666,817.72. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy Grygiel sold 2,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.16, for a total transaction of $1,194,415.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,951,854.40. This trade represents a 28.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,222 shares of company stock valued at $2,540,926 over the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and commercial activities focus on areas including oncology, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health, neuroscience and rare diseases. The company uses biologic research, human genetics and other advanced technologies to develop targeted therapies and supports patients through treatment and disease-management services.

Amgen’s portfolio includes medicines such as Enbrel for inflammatory diseases; Prolia and Evenity for osteoporosis; Xgeva for cancer-related bone complications; Repatha for certain cardiovascular conditions; Otezla for inflammatory diseases; Aimovig for migraine prevention; Tezspire for severe asthma; and Lumakras for certain cancers.