Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,623 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,623 shares during the period. Amgen makes up about 1.2% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $8,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the first quarter valued at $414,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Amgen by 112.1% during the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 1,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the first quarter worth approximately $6,534,000. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 10.2% in the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMGN. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.50.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $316.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $324.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.29. The company has a market cap of $170.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.52 and a 52-week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

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.