ProVise Management Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

ProVise Management Group LLC decreased its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,432 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $6,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Amgen by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 29,285 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $1,110,000. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter worth about $1,072,000. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in Amgen by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 174,891 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $50,376,000 after acquiring an additional 35,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Amgen by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,652 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $305.84. 2,424,481 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,831,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $284.28 and a 200 day moving average of $285.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.96. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.71 and a 1-year high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.45 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 156.21%. Amgen’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.46 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 128.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 2,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.09, for a total value of $662,811.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,094,268.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMGN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $271.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. SVB Leerink lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. William Blair upgraded shares of Amgen from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Amgen from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Amgen from $332.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.65.

About Amgen

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.