HM Payson & Co. Raises Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 218,010 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,611 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for approximately 1.2% of HM Payson & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $67,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. KPP Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 87.1% during the first quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,833 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the first quarter worth about $1,331,000. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 7.3% during the first quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 20,491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. Aire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 914,380 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $238,316,000 after purchasing an additional 19,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Up 0.5%

Amgen stock opened at $298.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $253.30 and a 12 month high of $346.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $282.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.79.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMGN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.82.

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.