Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 8,772 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,772 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $1,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 48,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,768,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $490,000. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 20,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,974 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,040 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $60.61 on Tuesday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $61.10. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $57.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.88, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BMY shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,091.20. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.