Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Trims Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,782 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Unionview LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 3.8% during the third quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 2.3% in the third quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Connable Office Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 6,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Amgen by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $318.89 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $288.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 126.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Partners decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $324.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.04.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, EVP Jonathan P. Graham sold 25,045 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.12, for a total value of $7,341,190.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,496,669.44. The trade was a 46.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.