Sweet Financial Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Sweet Financial Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,307 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 872 shares during the period. Sweet Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,650 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,999,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the first quarter valued at about $331,000. LexAurum Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 23.7% during the first quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.2% in the first quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,500,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its position in shares of Amgen by 6.4% in the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $321.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.63. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.70 and a twelve month high of $346.85. 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 company has a market capitalization of $172.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.90, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AMGN. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $329.48.

Amgen Company 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.