Balentine LLC Purchases 1,950 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Balentine LLC raised its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 245.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,745 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Amgen by 304.5% in the first 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 lifted its position in Amgen by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN traded down $3.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $294.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,967,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,923. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $285.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.35. The firm has a market cap of $158.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year 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.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. Amgen's 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.82.

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.