Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Acquired by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $8,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 11.0% in the second quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,684 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 155,366 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $48,544,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 4.7% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,511 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,410,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Columbia Asset Management grew its position in shares of Amgen by 8.5% during the second quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 22,961 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,174,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 8.2% during the second quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 12,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,050,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $325.67. 91,802 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,528,787. The stock has a market cap of $174.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.34, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $326.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.86. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.70 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Amgen from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Eleven equities research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.89.

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.