Amgen Inc. announced Tuesday it will increase its first-quarter dividend to $1 a share, a 27 percent increase from the previous rate of 79 cents. The Thousand Oaks biotech will pay the dividend on March 8 to all stockholders of record as of Feb. 16. For its most recent quarter, Amgen reported net income of $1.86 billion, or $2.44 a share. Revenue rose 14 percent to $5.72 billion. Last year, the Amgen board increased the dividend to 79 cents from 61 cents. Shares closed up $4.51 or 2.9 percent to $162.62 on the Nasdaq.
