Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 611,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,524 shares during the period. Amgen comprises 0.6% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Amgen were worth $197,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Amgen in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Amgen during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AMGN shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Amgen from $335.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Amgen to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.05.

Amgen Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN opened at $280.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.57. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $257.80 and a 1 year high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.52 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

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.