Wintrust Investments LLC Cuts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Wintrust Investments LLC cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 52.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 763 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 829 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 301,816 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $78,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden lifted its holdings in Amgen by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 100,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,192,000 after buying an additional 23,951 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 54,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,120,000 after buying an additional 25,541 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 86,974 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,669,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,545 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Redburn Partners decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $312.50 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market cap of $167.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $289.70 and its 200 day moving average is $299.52.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.