Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) Stake Lessened by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,328 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,751 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

AMGN traded up $1.63 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $273.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,493,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,341. The firm has a market cap of $146.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.71 and a 12 month high of $329.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.61.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.45 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Amgen’s payout ratio is 72.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. SVB Leerink lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Amgen from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.95.

Amgen Company 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.