Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 13,134 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,528 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 13,134 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $31,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,035,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,178,910,000 after purchasing an additional 165,636 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Amgen by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,977,625 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,875,306,000 after acquiring an additional 255,463 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,437,182 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,461,297,000 after buying an additional 61,528 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Amgen by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,079,677 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,365,213,000 after buying an additional 518,689 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,356,359 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $902,055,000 after acquiring an additional 459,340 shares during the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $2.98 during trading on Monday, hitting $271.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,165,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,849,916. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.71 and a 12 month high of $329.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. The company has a market capitalization of $145.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $276.90 and its 200 day moving average is $281.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a return on equity of 154.27% and a net margin of 23.83%. The business had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $2.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $313.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.95.

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.