Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,736 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,131 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $3,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Amgen by 10.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 21,725 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Stewardship Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 19.4% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 11,562 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus raised their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.55.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $4.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $316.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,455,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,443,379. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.76. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.70 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $169.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. Amgen's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

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.