Range Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Range Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 515.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,133 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,648 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for about 1.1% of Range Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.1% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter worth $26,000. Certuity LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 72.7% in the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 2,249 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.3% in the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 4,761 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 83,206 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,998,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AMGN. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Redburn Partners cut their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Amgen from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.83.

Amgen Trading Up 1.3 %

AMGN stock traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $262.06. 3,171,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,277,652. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $283.46 and a 200-day moving average of $310.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.90%.

Amgen 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.