Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 182.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.1 %

AMGN stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $321.66. 1,552,126 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,447,665. The business has a 50 day moving average of $326.07 and a 200-day moving average of $311.90. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.70 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. Amgen’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $362.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $329.48.

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.