Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Sells 986 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 22.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,436 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 986 shares during the period. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in Amgen by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 129,831 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,566,000 after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amgen by 37.4% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,642 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,168 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its stake in Amgen by 19.1% in the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 38,067 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,823,000 after purchasing an additional 6,116 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amgen by 11.0% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,769 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Amgen during the first quarter valued at $4,772,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $316.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,604,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,427,964. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $325.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.47. Amgen Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.70 and a 1 year high of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $170.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.64.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by ($0.04). Amgen had a net margin of 10.12% and a return on equity of 161.72%. The business had revenue of $8.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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 2.84%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 128.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMGN shares. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Amgen in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $362.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Amgen from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $320.00 to $335.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.55.

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.