Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,477,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 36,161 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.07% of Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $83,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $54.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.23. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $61.10.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -56.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa America raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.