Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 17,183 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

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 increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 0.08% of Amgen worth $129,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 304.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Guggenheim started coverage on Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.27.

Amgen Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $296.88 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $292.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.03. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $339.17. The firm has a market cap of $159.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 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. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company's stock.

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.

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