Virtu Financial LLC Invests $1.59 Million in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,588,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.5% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 276,727 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $89,164,000 after buying an additional 16,984 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,949,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,376 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Amgen by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 5.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,672 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $274.06 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $257.80 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $303.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The firm has a market cap of $147.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMGN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.68.

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.