Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.64.

BMY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY stock opened at $57.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $61.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.27 and a 200-day moving average of $49.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors 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 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is -69.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other 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 transaction of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at $654,091.20. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMY. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased 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 worth $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 29,044 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 34.3% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 11,387 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 81.3% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,775 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 34,418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth about $1,905,000. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.