Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 182.0% in the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $321.66 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $326.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.95, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.70 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion for 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%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus upped their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial downgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $333.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.45.

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.