Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $105.03 Million Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 325,976 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,702 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $105,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter worth $36,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $316.98. 1,604,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,427,964. The stock has a market cap of $170.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $325.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.47. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $249.70 and a 12 month high of $346.85.

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

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.55.

About Amgen

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.