Sandy Spring Bank Sells 529 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 230,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its holdings in Amgen by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 229,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,476 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $1,669,000. Investment House LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 35,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,261,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 31,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,199,000 after buying an additional 4,161 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. The trade was a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. 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. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Amgen stock opened at $315.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.14. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $169.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.04.

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.