Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 381,790 Shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly reduced its stake in Amgen Inc., selling 381,790 shares and decreasing its holdings by 82.2% during the first quarter, leaving it with 82,722 shares valued at approximately $25.77 million.
• Amgen recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.38 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $9.52 and a dividend yield of 3.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 86.86%.
• Amgen's stock was reported to have a market capitalization of $159.64 billion and recently traded at $296.88, with notable quarterly earnings of $4.90 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN - Free Report) by 82.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,722 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 381,790 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Amgen were worth $25,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 304.5% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 89 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 141 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMGN. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Amgen from $324.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amgen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 18th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Amgen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $328.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.27.

Amgen Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMGN traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $300.70. 329,185 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,887,200. The stock has a market cap of $161.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.40. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $339.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Amgen's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In related news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.68, for a total transaction of $434,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,364,368.16. This trade represents a 15.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amgen 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.