Gries Financial LLC Sells 1,078 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Gries Financial LLC lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 74.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.43, for a total value of $2,508,305.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,627,748.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $257.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76. The firm has a market cap of $137.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.17. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $211.71 and a 12-month high of $296.67.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.56. Amgen had a return on equity of 196.60% and a net margin of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th were paid a $2.13 dividend. This represents a $8.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Amgen from $225.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on Amgen from $270.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.19.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It focuses on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas. The company's products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Neulasta that reduces the chance of infection due a low white blood cell count in patients cancer; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; Xgeva for skeletal-related events prevention; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization.