CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Buys Shares of 2,300 Amgen Inc. $AMGN

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000. Amgen comprises approximately 0.9% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,870,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,471,790,000 after buying an additional 148,658 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,128,328 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,336,647,000 after acquiring an additional 685,785 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,883,134 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,521,339,000 after acquiring an additional 274,488 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,454,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,387,695,000 after acquiring an additional 243,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 43,573.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,140,768,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653,205 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on Amgen from $326.00 to $317.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.43.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $283.64 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $293.85 and its 200-day moving average is $292.56. The company has a market cap of $152.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $339.17.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 174.71% and a net margin of 18.96%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.200-21.300 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.84%.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.99, for a total transaction of $376,286.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,000.91. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.