Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Sells 1,899 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 13.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,860 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,899 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 174,891 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,376,000 after acquiring an additional 35,040 shares during the period. Grassi Investment Management bought a new position in Amgen during the first quarter valued at $2,283,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Amgen by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 281,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $81,161,000 after buying an additional 4,376 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 7.2% in the second quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,566,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $325.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $326.56 and a 200-day moving average of $302.67. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.70 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMGN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus increased their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Amgen from $360.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.28.

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.