Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Position Boosted by IFS Advisors LLC

IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 359.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 767 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the quarter. IFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $43,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BMY. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 26,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at $488,000. Essex Savings Bank grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 17,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,176 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 6,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY stock opened at $55.89 on Thursday. 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 $57.44 and a 200-day moving average of $51.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly 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. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 15.30% and a positive return on equity of 11.94%. The company had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is currently -69.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BMY shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partners raised 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 note on Tuesday, November 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.27.

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.