City Center Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 684 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Grassi Investment Management acquired a new position in Amgen in the first quarter valued at about $2,283,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position 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 valued at $81,161,000 after buying an additional 4,376 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in Amgen by 7.2% in the second quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,566,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $803,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $317.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $249.70 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $326.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $309.76.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly 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 company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.00 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.30.

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.