Armbruster Capital Management Inc. Has $630,000 Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Armbruster Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Armbruster Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Cadinha & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 1.3% in the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 2,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Unionview LLC raised its position in Amgen by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Unionview LLC now owns 876 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Amgen by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AMGN shares. Redburn Partners reduced their target price on shares of Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.65.

Amgen Price Performance

AMGN stock opened at $275.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.32. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $271.39 and its 200 day moving average is $305.92. The firm has a market cap of $148.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.11 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $2.38 dividend. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

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.