Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Down 2.7% After Insider Selling

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)’s share price was down 2.7% on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $301.09 and last traded at $302.91. Approximately 971,665 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 2,868,695 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.29.

Specifically, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.05.

Amgen Stock Down 2.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $274.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.47 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a return on equity of 156.21% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amgen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JB Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth $211,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 33.8% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the third quarter worth $793,000. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 33.0% in the third quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Access Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 19.8% in the third quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

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.