Vestcor Inc Decreases Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,573 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,845 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Amgen were worth $12,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Hofer & Associates. Inc raised its position in shares of Amgen by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 6,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors boosted its holdings in Amgen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $277.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.55. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $257.80 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $305.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.66.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Partners cut their target price on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.05.

Amgen 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.