AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 62.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 75,667 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $11,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management grew its stake in Amgen by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its position in Amgen by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $280.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.78. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at $8,496,669.44. This trade represents a 46.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price target on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Amgen from $333.00 to $298.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $308.18.

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.