Abundance Wealth Counselors Sells 743 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Abundance Wealth Counselors lessened its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 743 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises about 1.2% of Abundance Wealth Counselors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Abundance Wealth Counselors’ holdings in Amgen were worth $2,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Amgen by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,088,210 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,809,720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045,657 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Amgen by 547.8% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,005,269 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,991,738,000 after acquiring an additional 5,923,915 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Amgen by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,564,710 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,890,769,000 after acquiring an additional 243,720 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Amgen by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,831,624 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,679,625,000 after acquiring an additional 751,947 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,556,912,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $325.39. 1,886,797 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,623,715. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $174.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $319.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.29. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $248.38 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.01 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. Amgen’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMGN. Barclays raised Amgen from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus increased their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. William Blair upgraded shares of Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.89.

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.