Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Boosts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 135 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $27,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMGN traded down $3.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $320.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,242,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,541,291. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.70 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $326.26 and a 200 day moving average of $302.12. The stock has a market cap of $171.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.58.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Amgen had a return on equity of 161.72% and a net margin of 10.12%. The company had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s payout ratio is 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMGN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.