Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 92.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,711 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 259,170 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total transaction of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,707 shares of company stock worth $12,819,342. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock opened at $265.86 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $296.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.86. 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 $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMGN. Mizuho increased their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.23.

Amgen 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.