Optas LLC Makes New Investment in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Optas LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,940,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,325,227,000 after buying an additional 4,275,787 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 420.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,241,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $219,443,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425,789 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 695.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,554,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $183,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107,672 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,074,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $986,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 61,030,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,157,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,729 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.93.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $59.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.47. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $61.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $119.97 billion, a PE ratio of -16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -69.08%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 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.