Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC decreased its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 939 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Grassi Investment Management acquired a new stake in Amgen during the first quarter valued at $2,283,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Amgen by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 281,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,161,000 after buying an additional 4,376 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in Amgen by 7.2% during the second 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. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $803,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $318.37. The stock had a trading volume of 68,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,470,898. 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 $170.78 billion, a PE ratio of 45.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $310.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. 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 earned $5.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors 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 2.83%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.30.

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.