Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 763 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was 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 three months. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Leerink Partners cut their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $317.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $170.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.02. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

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.