GEM Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

GEM Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 656 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. United Community Bank bought a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $328.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $176.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $326.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $302.95. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $249.70 and a one year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The business had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMGN. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price objective (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.28.

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.