Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 17,974 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 21.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,974 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $32,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of Amgen stock opened at $280.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $314.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $257.80 and a 12-month high of $346.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.52 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.57.

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.