EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $9.32 Million Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 6,059 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $9,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the first quarter worth about $28,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Amgen by 182.0% during the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $322.21 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $328.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.70 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $172.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.03, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 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 analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AMGN. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.55.

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.