Gould Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Gould Capital LLC reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 97.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 286 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 9,469 shares during the period. Gould Capital LLC's holdings in Amgen were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE grew its position in Amgen by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $1.05 on Wednesday, reaching $278.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,861,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,801,332. The stock's 50-day moving average is $285.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.81. Amgen Inc. has a 52-week low of $253.30 and a 52-week high of $346.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.51.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.72. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. The business had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Amgen's payout ratio is 86.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMGN. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $305.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Amgen from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.22.

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.