First County Bank CT Cuts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

First County Bank CT lessened its holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the period. Amgen makes up approximately 0.9% of First County Bank CT’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Amgen in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Amgen in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Amgen from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.83.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded up $3.46 on Tuesday, reaching $262.05. 1,630,761 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,882,019. The firm has a market cap of $140.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.56. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $283.46 and a 200-day moving average of $310.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.90%.

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.