Blue Trust Inc. Increases Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 46.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,682 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in Amgen by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,566,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,642 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,168 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 38,067 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,823,000 after purchasing an additional 6,116 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SMI Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,933,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $321.66 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $172.55 billion, a PE ratio of 45.95, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.41.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price target (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.45.

Amgen Company 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.