Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Buys Shares of 900 Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 900 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $59.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a fifty-two week low of $39.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.08. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.54.

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

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -69.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,091.20. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BMY. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.27.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

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.