Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 26,805 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 1.6% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 7,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Amgen by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 12,907 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Dbs Bank upgraded Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.55.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $2.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $319.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,467,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,004. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $327.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.96. 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 $171.48 billion, a PE ratio of 45.67, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $2.25 dividend. 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 2.82%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

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.