Gradient Investments LLC Has $14.63 Million Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,951 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,554 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $14,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMGN. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,024 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,352,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 242.2% in the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 23,999 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,255,000 after acquiring an additional 16,985 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 285.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 394,489 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $102,820,000 after acquiring an additional 292,137 shares during the period. Aire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $3,531,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.22.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $3.19 on Thursday, hitting $290.20. 906,776 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,799,313. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $282.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.31. The company has a market cap of $156.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85.

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 business had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

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.