Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Shares Sold by First County Bank CT

First County Bank CT lessened its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,482 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 924 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for 1.0% of First County Bank CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 49,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 5.3% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 4.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 31,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,051,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares during the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Amgen by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 80,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,911,000 after purchasing an additional 16,407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Amgen in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.57.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $289.77 on Friday. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.68 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $155.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.10, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.60. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $317.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.02.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

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.