Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 960 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 17.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 960 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 182.0% during the first 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. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $322.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.84 billion, a PE ratio of 46.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.70 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The business’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.00 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus boosted their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $362.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average 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.