Bell Bank Cuts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Bell Bank cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 14.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,256 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,546 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up about 1.0% of Bell Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bell Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $8,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen during the first quarter valued at about $214,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 135,701 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,583,000 after buying an additional 21,970 shares in the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,028 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,832,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 6.1% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $301.44 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.52 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $322.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $318.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday. Dbs Bank upgraded Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.