Flputnam Investment Management Co. Trims Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 14,869 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $15,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Amgen by 16.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 120,389 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,825,000 after buying an additional 17,387 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,751 shares in the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $253,000. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 755 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Amgen by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 13,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total value of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. The trade was a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.09.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN 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 firm has a market capitalization of $165.49 billion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $280.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $300.16. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

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

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.