Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by ARK Investment Management LLC

ARK Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,374 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 10,240 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $17,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $315.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $278.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.16. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $169.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. On average, analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.