Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. Has $2.56 Million Stock Position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,820 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Amgen makes up 1.0% of Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Amgen were worth $2,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Amgen in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Amgen during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Amgen during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Price Performance

Shares of AMGN opened at $274.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $253.30 and a twelve month high of $346.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $272.95 and a 200 day moving average of $306.92.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical research company reported $5.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.11 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.50 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 168.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amgen Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $9.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Amgen’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Amgen’s payout ratio is presently 115.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMGN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird restated an “underperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on Amgen from $349.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Amgen from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $314.91.

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.