Vigilare Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vigilare Wealth Management lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Vigilare Wealth Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Amgen by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,230 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,450 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,204,000 after buying an additional 3,554 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Amgen by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 68,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,984,000 after buying an additional 3,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its position in shares of Amgen by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 5,701 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $220.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $225.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other Amgen news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.43, for a total value of $2,508,305.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,308 shares in the company, valued at $11,627,748.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Trading Down 0.6 %

AMGN stock traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $260.72. The company had a trading volume of 6,161,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,463,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The company has a market capitalization of $139.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $248.12 and a 200 day moving average of $237.71. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.71 and a 12 month high of $296.67.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.44 by $0.56. Amgen had a net margin of 30.02% and a return on equity of 196.60%. The firm had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $2.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $8.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.45%.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It focuses on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas. The company's products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Neulasta that reduces the chance of infection due a low white blood cell count in patients cancer; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; Xgeva for skeletal-related events prevention; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization.