Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 694 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 295.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 103,117 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,700,000 after buying an additional 2,552 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $698,000. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Amgen by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,332 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Dbs Bank raised shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.28.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $335.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.22 billion, a PE ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.70 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $329.44 and its 200-day moving average is $305.22.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.39 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

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.