Community Trust & Investment Co. Raises Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMGN. Roundview Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.3% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 8,383 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 39.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Amgen during the first quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 2.1% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,970,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.43, for a total transaction of $2,508,305.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,627,748.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $263.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 458,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,447,841. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.71 and a twelve month high of $296.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $248.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.72. The firm has a market cap of $140.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.56. Amgen had a net margin of 30.02% and a return on equity of 196.60%. The business had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $2.13 per share. This represents a $8.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on Amgen from $220.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.44.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It focuses on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas. The company's products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Neulasta that reduces the chance of infection due a low white blood cell count in patients cancer; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; Xgeva for skeletal-related events prevention; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization.