Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 2,991 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,433 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,991 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Amgen were worth $12,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 547.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,005,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,991,738,000 after buying an additional 5,923,915 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 33,125.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,437,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,446,757 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Amgen by 6,812.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,130,610,000 after buying an additional 2,486,882 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Amgen by 137.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,381,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $676,984,000 after buying an additional 1,377,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Amgen by 561.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $496,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,982 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 4.2 %

Amgen stock opened at $283.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.05. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.52 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The company has a market cap of $152.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.57.

Amgen Company 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.