Whitener Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,780,233 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,792,621,000 after purchasing an additional 265,593 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Amgen by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,301,365 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,493,471,000 after buying an additional 1,523,665 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Amgen by 0.5% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,430,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,757,927,000 after buying an additional 54,692 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Amgen by 15.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,761,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,601,577,000 after buying an additional 1,474,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 83,875.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,541,011 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,980,571,000 after acquiring an additional 7,532,031 shares during the period. 74.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $0.91 on Tuesday, reaching $264.06. 749,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,449,636. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.71 and a fifty-two week high of $296.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $248.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.76.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The medical research company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.66 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 30.02% and a return on equity of 196.60%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 18.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were given a $2.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $8.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 57.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 9,558 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,627,748.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on Amgen from $220.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Amgen from $225.00 to $210.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.44.

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.