Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 2,710 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,160 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,710 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $18,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Evanson Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,632 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,910,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 4th quarter worth about $534,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Argus lifted their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Amgen from $284.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, William Blair upgraded Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.63.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of Amgen stock traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $334.85. 1,515,471 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,821,447. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $313.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.29. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $228.21 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.76 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 156.21% and a net margin of 12.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,094,268.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amgen 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.