Verity Asset Management Inc. Acquires 3,820 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 100.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,630 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 3,820 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for about 1.0% of Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 87.1% in the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,331,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 285.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 394,489 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $102,820,000 after purchasing an additional 292,137 shares during the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 7.3% in the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,491 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,384,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,461,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Amgen from $275.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 target price on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Amgen Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $277.13 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $281.02 and its 200 day moving average is $286.19. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.51. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

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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