Zhang Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,826 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 8,687 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 43,534 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 178.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 205,457 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,621,000 after buying an additional 131,595 shares in the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,643 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa America raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.27.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

BMY stock opened at $56.35 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $57.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.09. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $61.08. The company 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.31. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is an increase 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

In related news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.