Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Trims Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 477 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises approximately 1.7% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $308.06 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.99. The firm has a market cap of $165.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 126.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 8,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.22, for a total transaction of $2,554,239.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,147 shares in the company, valued at $18,222,743.34. This represents a 12.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.09.

About Amgen

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.