Machina Capital S.A.S. Cuts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,067 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,606 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $401,913,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Amgen by 263.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,038,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,699,000 after buying an additional 753,147 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,338,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $609,526,000 after acquiring an additional 676,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,657,183,000 after acquiring an additional 538,545 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 2.2 %

Amgen stock opened at $324.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $286.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.69. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $174.52 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler Companies restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Redburn Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 $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 three months, insiders sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Company 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.