Novare Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Novare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 679 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Amgen by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,159,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Amgen by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,806 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Destination Wealth Management acquired a new position in Amgen in the fourth quarter worth approximately $386,000. Andra AP fonden grew its position in Amgen by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 40,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,530,000 after buying an additional 12,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Amgen by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,087 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,672,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $298.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $282.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.49. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.30 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,364,368.16. The trade was a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 18th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.82.

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.