CCM Investment Group LLC Invests $6.06 Million in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC has acquired 19,747 shares of Amgen Inc. for approximately $6.06 million, representing 0.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Amgen's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $6.02, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $9.18 billion, a 9.4% increase from the previous year.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Amgen, with Morgan Stanley raising its target to $333.00 and others issuing a range of ratings from "buy" to "hold."

CCM Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,747 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $6,061,000. Amgen makes up approximately 0.6% of CCM Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $303.76.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $4.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $289.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,753,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,886,873. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $339.17. The firm's 50 day moving average is $293.07 and its 200-day moving average is $292.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 174.71%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.84%.

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.