Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock Acquired by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services increased its Amgen stake by 39% in the third quarter, adding 30,895 shares to reach 110,094 shares valued at about $46.4 million. Institutional investors own 76.5% of the company’s stock.
• Amgen beat quarterly estimates, reporting earnings of $6.45 per share and revenue of $10.37 billion, up 8.5% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.52 per share.
• Analyst views are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with a $420.80 average price target, while several firms raised targets and retained Buy or Outperform ratings.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,094 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,895 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $46,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 38.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,205,243 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,283,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,656,755 shares during the last quarter. MW Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter valued at $1,054,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Amgen by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 339,825 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $123,057,000 after purchasing an additional 5,496 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Amgen by 105.8% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 13,514 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,696,000 after purchasing an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth $3,329,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Amgen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Amgen from $430.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Amgen from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Amgen from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Amgen from $470.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $420.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,252 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.43, for a total transaction of $521,370.36. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 6,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,666,817.72. This trade represents a 16.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Its earnings-call discussion also emphasized growth and pipeline momentum, supporting the case for continued expansion. Amgen Earnings Call Highlights Growth, Pipeline Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A large real-world study found Repatha lowered heart-attack risk by 20% versus ezetimibe in patients with heart disease. The findings could strengthen the drug’s clinical and commercial position. Repatha real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a Buy view and set a $530 price target; UBS also maintains a Buy rating with a $530 target. Separately, ETFs bought a net $79.8 million of AMGN shares in Wednesday’s session. Scotiabank price target ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain divided: Leerink Partners and Guggenheim have Hold/neutral ratings, while Scotiabank and UBS are more optimistic. The differing views suggest debate about how much of Amgen’s recent gains are already reflected in its valuation. Leerink Partners rating
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Amgen to Hold, adding to the cautious analyst commentary and potentially tempering enthusiasm after the recent rally. Freedom Broker downgrade

Amgen Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AMGN traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $460.42. 2,579,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,619,150. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $312.39 and a fifty-two week high of $483.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $422.43 and a 200-day moving average of $378.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.79 by $0.66. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.64 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

About Amgen

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases.

The company's medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A.

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