Verity Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Verity Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up 0.8% of Verity Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,088,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,809,720,000 after buying an additional 3,045,657 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Amgen by 547.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,005,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,991,738,000 after purchasing an additional 5,923,915 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,437,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446,757 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,701,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $844,137,000 after purchasing an additional 162,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Amgen by 6,812.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,523,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,130,610,000 after buying an additional 2,486,882 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $321.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $323.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.68. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.52 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $173.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.22, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.60.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. Amgen’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.50.

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.