Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Purchases 790 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 73.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,869 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Amgen were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Keynote Financial Services LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased 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 during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Amgen by 17.1% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up previously from $375.00) on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Amgen from $310.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upped their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $329.48.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $321.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $326.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $312.15. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.70 and a fifty-two week high of $346.85. The stock has a market cap of $172.55 billion, a PE ratio of 45.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $8.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.00 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

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.