Traders Purchase High Volume of Bristol-Myers Squibb Put Options (NYSE:BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 41,749 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 40% compared to the typical daily volume of 29,843 put options.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,506,030.88. This represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,597,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $90,335,000 after purchasing an additional 60,365 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 103,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 29,044 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 81.3% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,972,000 after acquiring an additional 34,418 shares during the period. Finally, Bellevue Group AG bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,905,000. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY opened at $59.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock has a market cap of $120.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $63.33.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 18.53% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is presently -56.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

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.