Arizona State Retirement System Buys 2,044 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,605 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Amgen were worth $49,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its stake in Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Down 1.5%

Amgen stock traded down $4.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $292.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,592,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,836,222. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $283.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.55. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $157.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. Amgen's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued 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 report 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.82.

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.