Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Cuts Holdings in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,877 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,704 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Amgen were worth $46,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,877 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,875,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its position in Amgen by 13.1% during the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 11,785 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,291,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in Amgen by 26.3% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 648 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total value of $1,058,659.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,436,703.50. This represents a 30.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total value of $2,317,053.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,923 shares in the company, valued at $14,120,924.09. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 10,908 shares of company stock valued at $3,674,966 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Amgen in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Amgen from $329.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on Amgen from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.45.

Amgen Stock Up 0.1%

AMGN stock opened at $330.41 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $331.69 and its 200 day moving average is $306.41. The stock has a market cap of $177.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $261.43 and a 1-year high of $346.38.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 162.59%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.58 earnings per share. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $2.52 dividend. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.57%.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.