Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,609 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,252 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 1,609 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $6,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $270,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,159,000 after acquiring an additional 5,226 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 856 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Amgen by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $287.10. 2,521,343 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,805,500. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $282.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $285.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $329.00 to $328.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.22.

Amgen 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.