Northeast Investment Management Trims Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Northeast Investment Management trimmed its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,139 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 776 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,993,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Amgen during the 1st quarter worth approximately $414,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,590,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.50.

Amgen Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $319.22 on Monday. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.52 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $171.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.87, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $324.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.90.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

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.