Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department decreased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,154 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,725 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $3,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 103,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 29,044 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at about $488,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.8% in the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,305,000 after buying an additional 11,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,972,000 after buying an additional 34,418 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BMY. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. This represents a 3.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY opened at $56.35 on Monday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $61.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.70, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.53 and a 200-day moving average of $52.00.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.08%.

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.