Leavell Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 42.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,756 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 5,325 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at about $612,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the first quarter worth about $2,957,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 84.8% in the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 5,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 115.1% during the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,736 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 67,615 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,224,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $325.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $323.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.52 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.50.

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.