Amgen Inc. $AMGN Stock: Kestra Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 39.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,895 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $46,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Claro Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 5.3% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 3,566 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 330 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amgen by 4.1% in the third quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 866 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paulson Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Amgen by 15.1% during the third quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.57, for a total transaction of $825,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 6,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,642,098.28. This trade represents a 23.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $460.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,579,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,150. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $422.43 and a 200-day moving average of $378.19. The company has a market capitalization of $248.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.37. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $312.39 and a 52-week high of $483.99.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $0.66. Amgen had a return on equity of 124.14% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business had revenue of $10.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 23.33 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $2.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $10.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.47%.

Key Headlines Impacting Amgen

Here are the key news stories impacting Amgen this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amgen reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, with revenue up 8.5% year over year. Its earnings-call discussion also emphasized growth and pipeline momentum, supporting the case for continued expansion. Amgen Earnings Call Highlights Growth, Pipeline Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A large real-world study found Repatha lowered heart-attack risk by 20% versus ezetimibe in patients with heart disease. The findings could strengthen the drug’s clinical and commercial position. Repatha real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reiterated a Buy view and set a $530 price target; UBS also maintains a Buy rating with a $530 target. Separately, ETFs bought a net $79.8 million of AMGN shares in Wednesday’s session. Scotiabank price target ETF holdings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions remain divided: Leerink Partners and Guggenheim have Hold/neutral ratings, while Scotiabank and UBS are more optimistic. The differing views suggest debate about how much of Amgen’s recent gains are already reflected in its valuation. Leerink Partners rating
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Amgen to Hold, adding to the cautious analyst commentary and potentially tempering enthusiasm after the recent rally. Freedom Broker downgrade

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Amgen from $470.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Amgen from $359.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Amgen from $312.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Amgen from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Amgen from $375.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $420.80.

Amgen Company Profile

Amgen is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines for serious illnesses. Its research and product portfolio span areas including cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, bone health and rare diseases.

The company’s medicines include Enbrel, Prolia, Xgeva and Repatha. Amgen serves patients and healthcare providers in the United States and markets its products internationally.

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen is led by Robert A.