Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,851 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,920 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $16,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMGN. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter worth about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 27.6% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 162 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $322.21 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.70 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $172.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.12.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.00 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMGN. Bank of America lifted their price target on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus increased their price objective on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $362.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.