Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Takes Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 37,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,815,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This represents a 40.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $271.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $288.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.36. The stock has a market cap of $145.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 86.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim started coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.22.

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.