Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,934 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,954 shares during the quarter. Amgen accounts for approximately 1.2% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $11,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 33,125.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 4,460,181 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,437,115,000 after buying an additional 4,446,757 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 6,812.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,130,610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,486,882 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Amgen by 561.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,539,733 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $496,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,982 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Amgen by 9,058.1% during the second quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 756,460 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $223,897,000 after acquiring an additional 748,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Amgen by 11.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,143,330 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,657,183,000 after purchasing an additional 538,545 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Dbs Bank raised shares of Amgen to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.68.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded down $3.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $270.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,906,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,090. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $145.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.55. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $257.80 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $303.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.87.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Amgen's previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

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.