Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,698 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.8 %

Amgen stock opened at $335.26 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $179.85 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $328.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.44. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $249.70 and a one year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen 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.