Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Purchases 1,583 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,412 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises about 1.4% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $3,104,000. Bennett Associates Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth $474,000. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,363 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 421.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 144,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $41,614,000 after purchasing an additional 116,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $934,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $317.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $170.29 billion, a PE ratio of 45.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. 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 twelve month low of $249.70 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.48.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.