Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 24,093 Shares of Amgen Inc. $AMGN

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,093 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Amgen were worth $29,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMGN. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amgen by 0.6% in the second quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,918 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Amgen by 3.2% in the second quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,146 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amgen by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 732 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Amgen by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 76.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amgen

In other news, SVP Rachna Khosla sold 890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.24, for a total transaction of $299,253.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,381,251.68. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Murdo Gordon sold 6,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.83, for a total value of $2,317,053.57. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,923 shares in the company, valued at $14,120,924.09. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,908 shares of company stock valued at $3,674,966 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Amgen Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ AMGN opened at $321.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $172.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.45. Amgen Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.30 and a 1-year high of $346.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $314.36 and a 200-day moving average of $297.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.45.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.63. Amgen had a return on equity of 162.59% and a net margin of 19.47%.The business had revenue of $9.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amgen has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.600-21.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amgen Inc. will post 20.62 EPS for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $2.38 per share. This represents a $9.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Wall Street Zen cut Amgen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating and a $318.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Amgen in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Amgen in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Amgen from $288.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.65.

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.