Washington Trust Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Washington Trust Bank lowered its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,992 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keynote Financial Services LLC grew its position in Amgen by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 4,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Amgen by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc increased its position in shares of Amgen by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 6,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $1.93 on Thursday, hitting $319.86. The company had a trading volume of 77,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,400,304. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.52 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55. The firm has a market cap of $171.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $323.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.68.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Amgen in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $381.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.50.

Amgen Company 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.