773 Shares in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Bought by Smith Thornton Advisors LLC

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 773 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 4.8% during the second quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 41,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,905,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 442.1% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 4,955 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 4,041 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,155,000. Marathon Capital Management increased its position in shares of Amgen by 30.1% during the second quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 1,188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 54.0% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 75,712 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $23,656,000 after purchasing an additional 26,553 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $319.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $328.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.00. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.70 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. Amgen’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.00 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.55.

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.