Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Takes Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,510 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,139,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $162,440,000 after buying an additional 28,427 shares during the period. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 8.7% during the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,108 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 7.4% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 17,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 155,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,036,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $59.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.51, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.15 and a 200-day moving average of $54.74. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $61.10.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 18.53% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -56.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 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.