Prospera Financial Services Inc Sells 243 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Prospera Financial Services Inc reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,586 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Amgen were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,016,913,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Amgen during the first quarter valued at about $110,402,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 26.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,636,008 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $432,490,000 after buying an additional 551,600 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 414.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 601,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $98,747,000 after buying an additional 484,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 37.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,443,129 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $236,775,000 after buying an additional 392,538 shares in the last quarter. 78.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ AMGN) traded down 0.19% on Friday, reaching $173.85. 1,915,679 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.64 and a 1-year high of $184.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $173.04 and its 200 day moving average is $166.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 1.35.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The medical research company reported $3.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.16. Amgen had a return on equity of 29.85% and a net margin of 35.46%. The business had revenue of $5.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. Amgen’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post $12.57 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.93%.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMGN shares. Cowen and Company reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Mizuho set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Amgen and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Amgen and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.64.

In related news, SVP Cynthia M. Patton sold 2,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total value of $451,156.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 24,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,738,641.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc is a biotechnology company. The Company discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers various human therapeutics. It operates in human therapeutics segment. Its marketed products portfolio includes Neulasta (pegfilgrastim); erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), such as Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) and EPOGEN (epoetin alfa); Sensipar/Mimpara (cinacalcet); XGEVA (denosumab); Prolia (denosumab); NEUPOGEN (filgrastim), and other marketed products, such as KYPROLIS (carfilzomib), Vectibix (panitumumab), Nplate (romiplostim), Repatha (evolocumab), BLINCYTO (blinatumomab), IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec) and Corlanor (ivabradine).

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