Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC has increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. by 4.3%, acquiring an additional 17,183 shares and bringing its total ownership to 416,417 shares valued at approximately $129.7 million.
• A recent report indicated that Amgen's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $4.90 surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.18, and a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.4%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, which will be distributed on September 12th, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 416,417 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 17,183 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.08% of Amgen worth $129,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in Amgen by 304.5% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted 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. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. 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. 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Erste Group Bank lowered Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $330.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.23.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $285.95. 941,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,901,821. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $339.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $293.18 and a 200 day moving average of $292.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. The stock has a market cap of $153.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $6.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.28 by $0.74. Amgen had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 180.66%. The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.84%.

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.