Second Half Financial Partners LLC Takes $3.41 Million Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Second Half Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 10,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,413,000. Amgen accounts for approximately 1.8% of Second Half Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMGN. Keynote Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the second quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 6,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AMGN opened at $278.76 on Tuesday. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.52 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $319.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.65. The stock has a market cap of $149.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.60.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMGN. Barclays upped their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price objective (down previously from $310.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Amgen in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $335.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $335.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.57.

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.