Howard Financial Services LTD. Has $438,000 Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Platform Technology Partners boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 5,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 1,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, First United Bank & Trust boosted its position in Amgen by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 6,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,627,748.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $262.85. The company had a trading volume of 502,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,448,164. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $248.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.72. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $211.71 and a one year high of $296.67. The firm has a market cap of $140.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.77.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 30.02% and a return on equity of 196.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $214.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $225.00 to $210.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.44.

Amgen Profile

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.