Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,245 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,955 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $16,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 295.3% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Amgen by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 29,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,104,000 after buying an additional 3,533 shares during the period. Hoylecohen LLC grew its position in Amgen by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Hoylecohen LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,356,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Finally, Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $447,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $337.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The company has a market cap of $180.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.70 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $329.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.82.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.00 EPS. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.28.

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.