Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Stake Lessened by Sharp Financial Services LLC

Sharp Financial Services LLC lessened its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,650 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Sharp Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMY. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 14.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 71.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 77,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 32,407 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the second quarter worth $636,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 59.3% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 388,221 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,123,000 after purchasing an additional 144,467 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 9.9% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 41,496 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 3,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $57.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.33. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $39.35 and a 52 week high of $61.08. The stock has a market cap of $115.83 billion, a PE ratio of -15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -69.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This trade represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BMY. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.27.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.