Vest Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 68.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,038 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,082 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $3,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 price target for the company. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.22.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $0.35 on Monday, hitting $289.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,966,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,810,171. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $281.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.36. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $155.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.96 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.