Hollencrest Capital Management Cuts Stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Hollencrest Capital Management lowered its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,062 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMGN. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Amgen by 1.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 538,899 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $173,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its stake in Amgen by 160.6% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 959 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Amgen during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nancy A. Grygiel sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.47, for a total transaction of $483,802.83. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,210 shares in the company, valued at $2,195,228.70. The trade was a 18.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 8,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.79, for a total value of $2,585,603.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,025,590.94. This trade represents a 16.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,341 shares of company stock worth $20,644,335. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amgen Trading Down 2.6 %

AMGN opened at $318.89 on Wednesday. Amgen Inc. has a 52 week low of $253.30 and a 52 week high of $346.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $288.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.43. The company has a market capitalization of $171.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.62.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The medical research company reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by $0.27. Amgen had a return on equity of 176.32% and a net margin of 12.24%. Analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $2.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Redburn Partners dropped their price target on Amgen from $200.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $314.04.

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.