Leisure Capital Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Leisure Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,411 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 822 shares during the period. Leisure Capital Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 18,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,007,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,330 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $269.98. 2,436,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,035,139. Amgen Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.71 and a 12 month high of $329.72. The company has a market cap of $144.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $275.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.05. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. Amgen’s revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amgen Inc. will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $9.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Amgen’s payout ratio is currently 72.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $314.00 to $284.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. SVB Leerink lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $324.00 to $318.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amgen currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.95.

Amgen 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.