Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 69 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,821 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter worth $57,000. 76.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amgen Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMGN stock opened at $293.54 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62. The stock has a market cap of $157.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.88, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 176.32%. Analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 20.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Amgen from $344.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total value of $483,802.83. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,195,228.70. This represents a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.