Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 630,985 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,187 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $164,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 16,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,236,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,928 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,327,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company grew its position in Amgen by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 2,229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Financial Co grew its position in Amgen by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 4,110 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,405 shares of company stock valued at $10,410,596 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $291.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The company has a market cap of $156.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $274.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $301.42.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Leerink Partners lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $314.09.

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.