New England Research & Management Inc. Lowers Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

New England Research & Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 53.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,543 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,926 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its stake in Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $295.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $281.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total value of $434,520.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Johnson Rice set a $294.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.