EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Increases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. United Community Bank bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded down $2.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $326.43. 581,748 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,570,591. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.54. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $248.38 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $175.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results 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). Amgen had a return on equity of 156.21% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.00 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised shares of Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.89.

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.