The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 508,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,327 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Amgen were worth $159,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,088,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,809,720,000 after acquiring an additional 3,045,657 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 547.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,005,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,991,738,000 after buying an additional 5,923,915 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,564,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,890,769,000 after buying an additional 243,720 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,831,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,679,625,000 after buying an additional 751,947 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,701,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $844,137,000 after acquiring an additional 162,223 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $322.67 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.70 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $328.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm has a market cap of $173.09 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued 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). Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. Amgen’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.79%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen presently 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.