State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 35.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,276 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 106,983 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Amgen were worth $61,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $329.98 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $327.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.14, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.70 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research note 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.