Davis R M Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Davis R M Inc. cut its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,110 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Amgen by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 324,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $101,146,000 after purchasing an additional 43,086 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 11,071 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 13,909 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,333,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 5,159 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 14,406 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,488,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $295.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $340.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $291.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.66. The company has a market cap of $158.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Amgen from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.27.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In other Amgen news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Amgen

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.