Avity Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,542 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,278 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for approximately 2.8% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $33,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. United Community Bank purchased a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 104 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 113 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMGN. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus raised their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $271.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.35.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $312.45. 3,518,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,437,626. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $218.44 and a twelve month high of $329.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96. The company has a market cap of $167.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.64, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.10.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. Amgen had a return on equity of 156.21% and a net margin of 12.74%. The company had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.