Zhang Financial LLC Increases Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,250 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $4,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $1.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $325.70. 842,171 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,454,336. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.70 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The firm has a market cap of $174.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $362.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.