Rockland Trust Co. Decreases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Rockland Trust Co. lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,928 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Private Client Services LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $225,000. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 12,907 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 109,459 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,269,000 after purchasing an additional 7,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Amgen stock traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $319.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,467,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,004. The company has a market capitalization of $171.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.70 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $327.28 and its 200-day moving average is $308.96. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.00 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned 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 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.