Joseph Group Capital Management Boosts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Joseph Group Capital Management increased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,464 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 782 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises approximately 1.2% of Joseph Group Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. United Community Bank acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $335.95 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $249.70 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Dbs Bank raised Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $327.28.

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.