Greenspring Advisors LLC Sells 400 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Greenspring Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Amgen comprises 0.3% of Greenspring Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Greenspring Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Amgen in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amgen in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $307.81 on Thursday. Amgen Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The company has a market capitalization of $165.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $271.69 and a 200 day moving average of $303.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.55.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 168.35% and a net margin of 13.00%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $2.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Amgen from $335.00 to $326.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Amgen from $335.00 to $280.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.83.

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.