Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Invests $5.57 Million in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,523 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,567,000. Amgen comprises 1.2% of Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Boone Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Boone Capital Management LLC now owns 101,508 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the period. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 41,390 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,921,000 after purchasing an additional 9,164 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,955,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $454,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $321.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $172.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $326.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.70 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The company’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 154.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, September 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.30.

About Amgen

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.