Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,025 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $20,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 0.6% during the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 6,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 3.3% in the second quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 1,023 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 1.1% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,057 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.28.

Amgen Trading Up 0.4 %

AMGN opened at $337.38 on Monday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.70 and a 52 week high of $346.85. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.03. The firm 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. 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 currently 128.57%.

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.