Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 6,516 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 6,516 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $11,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.2% during the second quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,566,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Amgen by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,592,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $513,033,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Napa Wealth Management purchased a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,104,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 11.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,758,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,413,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $287.87 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.52 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $318.08 and a 200 day moving average of $318.22. The firm has a market cap of $154.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AMGN. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $362.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.57.

Amgen Company 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.