Aviance Capital Partners LLC Increases Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 33.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,496 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,910 shares during the period. Amgen makes up 1.3% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $8,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMGN. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 999 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded up $4.82 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $317.27. The stock had a trading volume of 162,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,770,275. The firm has a market cap of $170.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.64, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.44 and a fifty-two week high of $329.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $301.56 and a 200-day moving average of $292.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $271.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus upped their price objective on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Amgen from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.35.

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.