Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 20.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 760 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Amgen in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $321.63 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.70 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $326.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.56. The company has a market cap of $172.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.95, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.00 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $362.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.95.

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.