Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 78 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,161 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. United Community Bank bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Amgen by 182.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $337.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $329.57 and its 200 day moving average is $305.62. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $249.70 and a one year high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $180.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.28.

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.