Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $7,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rational Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 13.7% in the second quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 199 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. James T. Borello RIA raised its holdings in Amgen by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sweeney & Michel LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Amgen by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,407 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Amgen from $405.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Amgen from $312.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Amgen from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Amgen from $440.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $422.76.

Amgen News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about AMGN:

• Positive Sentiment: Dazodalibep met the primary endpoint in the 648-patient OASIZ-301 trial, with both dosing regimens producing statistically significant reductions in systemic disease activity versus placebo over 48 weeks. Amgen also reported clinically meaningful improvements in patient-reported symptoms, potentially positioning the drug in a disease area with no approved treatments. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: The positive data may improve dazodalibep’s commercial prospects, but it remains investigational; further development and regulatory review are needed before it can generate sales. Amgen announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the encouraging results, some coverage reported that Amgen shares slipped, indicating investors may be taking a cautious or “sell-the-news” approach rather than immediately pricing in the drug’s longer-term potential. MSN article

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $468.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $253.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.43. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $312.39 and a one year high of $483.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $424.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $380.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 24.14% and a return on equity of 114.99%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Amgen Profile

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases. The company’s medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally. Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A. Bradway, who has served as its chief executive officer since 2012.