The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 493,110 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,821 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.09% of Amgen worth $158,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the first quarter valued at $3,240,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $152,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter worth approximately $152,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Amgen during the first quarter valued at approximately $151,977,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $280.01 on Wednesday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $257.80 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $314.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The firm has a market cap of $150.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 115.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Robert W. Baird reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.57.

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.