Howard Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,099 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Amgen Inc. by 10.5%, holding 17,916 shares valued at $5.58 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• The stock received a consensus "Hold" rating from analysts with an average price target of $307.27, reflecting a mix of buy, hold, and sell ratings among analysts.
• Amgen reported a quarterly revenue of $8.15 billion, exceeding estimates with a 9.4% year-over-year increase and earnings per share of $4.90, beating consensus expectations.

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,916 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 2,099 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Amgen were worth $5,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMGN. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amgen by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN stock traded down $6.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $295.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,251,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,367. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70. Amgen Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.30 and a fifty-two week high of $340.89. The company has a market capitalization of $158.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $291.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.66.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported $4.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.05 billion. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.11% and a net margin of 17.39%. Amgen's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMGN. Bank of America raised their target price on Amgen from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Amgen from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Amgen in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.27.

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.