Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Reduces Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 618,990 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 271,270 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Amgen were worth $161,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $306.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $301.08 and a 200-day moving average of $298.38. The company has a market cap of $164.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.04.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, EVP David M. Reese sold 25,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.44, for a total transaction of $7,679,499.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,240,533.68. This trade represents a 40.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock valued at $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.