Balentine LLC Boosts Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Balentine LLC lifted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 245.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. First Pacific Financial grew its position in Amgen by 304.5% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1,388.9% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 134 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $294.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $285.90 and a 200 day moving average of $289.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.82.

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.