Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 60.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,450 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $268.93 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $276.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.51. The firm has a market cap of $144.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.71 and a 1 year high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. The business had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMGN. StockNews.com cut Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.95.

Amgen 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.