Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 111.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 989,061 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 522,367 shares during the period. Amgen accounts for about 1.1% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Amgen worth $284,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 37,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,857,000 after acquiring an additional 16,376 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 4.4% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 7.4% in the third quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 5,830 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $281.00 to $278.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.40.

Amgen Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $276.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,175,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,791,289. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $274.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.60. Amgen Inc. has a one year low of $211.71 and a one year high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.13 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The business’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

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.