AlphaQuest LLC Makes New Investment in Amgen Inc. $AMGN

AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,321 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $937,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its holdings in Amgen by 1.6% during the third quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 910 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amgen by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 885 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in Amgen by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $344.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $332.81 and a 200 day moving average of $309.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $261.43 and a 1-year high of $353.25.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 162.59%. The business had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $2.52 dividend. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 73.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Amgen from $400.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 3,139 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.26, for a total value of $1,058,659.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,436,703.50. The trade was a 30.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total transaction of $2,317,053.57. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 41,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,120,924.09. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock worth $3,674,966. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN) is a global biotechnology company founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. The company focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering human therapeutics that address serious illnesses. Amgen’s work centers on biologic medicines derived from cellular and molecular biology, with an emphasis on translating advances in human genetics and protein science into therapies for patients.

Amgen’s commercial portfolio has historically included biologics used in oncology, supportive care, nephrology, bone health and cardiovascular disease.