Milestone Asset Management LLC Buys 2,685 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Milestone Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 255.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,685 shares during the quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 258.5% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,993 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 11,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 26,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,027,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 11,451 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,985,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 564,381 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $147,100,000 after acquiring an additional 25,482 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $281.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $151.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $253.30 and a one year high of $346.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.15.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. Amgen’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Amgen from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.00.

Amgen Company 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.