Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Purchases 205 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV increased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,003 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Amgen makes up approximately 0.8% of Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Platform Technology Partners increased its position in Amgen by 0.8% during the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 5,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Apeiron RIA LLC increased its position in Amgen by 2.3% during the first quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 1,842 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Amgen by 0.8% during the first quarter. All Terrain Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its position in Amgen by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 7,036 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,848,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. now owns 1,373 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.43, for a total value of $2,508,305.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,627,748.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Amgen from $220.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Amgen from $225.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Amgen from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Argus lowered their target price on Amgen from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Amgen from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $259.53.

Amgen Stock Up 2.0 %

AMGN opened at $259.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $244.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $138.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $211.71 and a one year high of $296.67.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 196.60% and a net margin of 30.02%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.65 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a $2.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $8.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.45%.

Amgen Profile

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. It focuses on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas. The company's products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Neulasta that reduces the chance of infection due a low white blood cell count in patients cancer; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; Xgeva for skeletal-related events prevention; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization.