Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stake Reduced by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,046 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 4,504 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $1,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Amgen by 1,292.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,495,710 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,693,042,000 after buying an additional 6,029,058 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $1,541,991,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 43,573.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,661,589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,140,768,000 after acquiring an additional 3,653,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Amgen by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,212,065 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,182,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495,503 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,205,604 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,441,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672,975 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $315.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.82.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of AMGN traded up $6.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $296.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,286,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,835,582. The stock has a market cap of $159.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $281.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

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.