Candriam S.C.A. Lowers Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 24.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 617,525 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 195,571 shares during the period. Amgen comprises 0.9% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.11% of Amgen worth $160,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Talbot Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $513,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 9.0% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 35,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 635,172 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $204,659,000 after acquiring an additional 35,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $314.95.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total transaction of $7,341,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. This represents a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 18.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $316.57 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.78. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. 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 stock has a market cap of $170.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

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.