Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 18,655 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 255,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,655 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $72,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 37,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,857,000 after purchasing an additional 16,376 shares in the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in Amgen by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 1,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 11,348 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Amgen by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,941 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.9 %

AMGN traded up $2.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $333.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,879,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,703,217. The company has a market capitalization of $178.71 billion, a PE ratio of 47.78, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.58. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $224.34 and a one year high of $335.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $309.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $328.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amgen news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total transaction of $662,811.53. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.