Exeter Financial LLC Cuts Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Exeter Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,111 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises about 1.6% of Exeter Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amgen by 182.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $317.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $249.70 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $327.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.48.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective (down from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Dbs Bank raised Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Amgen in a report on Friday, September 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.30.

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.