Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Amgen were worth $73,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth $33,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Amgen from $332.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.28.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $335.95 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $180.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $249.70 and a one year high of $346.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.22.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 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 return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. Amgen’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 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.