LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Boosts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,510 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $3,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Amgen by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 4,943 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its position in shares of Amgen by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 5,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Amgen by 486.0% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 252 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 73,491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,896,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Amgen by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,843 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,755,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of Amgen stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen Stock Down 5.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN opened at $272.44 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.10. The company has a market capitalization of $146.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $253.30 and a 1 year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 176.11%. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AMGN. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $305.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.22.

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.