Retirement Planning Group LLC Sells 235 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Retirement Planning Group LLC trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Amgen by 1,292.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,693,042,000 after acquiring an additional 6,029,058 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,541,991,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,182,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,495,503 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Amgen by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $401,913,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $271.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $287.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.01, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. 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 quarterly 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 for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.22.

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.