Davis R M Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,830 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,065 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMY. Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at about $557,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 32,358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 71,049 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,019,000 after acquiring an additional 25,330 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 106,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,015,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BMY shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY stock opened at $61.47 on Wednesday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $39.35 and a 52 week high of $63.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. Analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 4.03%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -56.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.