2,160 Amgen Inc. $AMGN Shares Sold by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises about 2.8% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $29,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 49,362,016 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,874,974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261,544 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Amgen by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,283,363,000 after acquiring an additional 11,656,755 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,390,910 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,156,000 after acquiring an additional 605,928 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,831,903,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Amgen by 15.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,890,189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,408,715,000 after purchasing an additional 512,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Amgen

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Its earnings-call discussion also emphasized growth and pipeline momentum, supporting the case for continued expansion. Amgen Earnings Call Highlights Growth, Pipeline Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A large real-world study found Repatha lowered heart-attack risk by 20% versus ezetimibe in patients with heart disease. The findings could strengthen the drug’s clinical and commercial position. Repatha real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a Buy view and set a $530 price target; UBS also maintains a Buy rating with a $530 target. Separately, ETFs bought a net $79.8 million of AMGN shares in Wednesday’s session. Scotiabank price target ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain divided: Leerink Partners and Guggenheim have Hold/neutral ratings, while Scotiabank and UBS are more optimistic. The differing views suggest debate about how much of Amgen’s recent gains are already reflected in its valuation. Leerink Partners rating
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Amgen to Hold, adding to the cautious analyst commentary and potentially tempering enthusiasm after the recent rally. Freedom Broker downgrade

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $460.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.48. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $312.39 and a 52-week high of $483.99. The firm has a market cap of $249.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $422.43 and its 200 day moving average is $378.19.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. Amgen had a return on equity of 114.99% and a net margin of 24.14%. The business had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $405.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $450.00 to $415.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $345.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Freedom Broker downgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $450.00 to $470.00 in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total value of $521,370.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,666,817.72. This represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Profile

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases.

The company’s medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A.