Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,435 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,796 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $2,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 2nd quarter valued at about $392,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 94,911 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,941,000 after buying an additional 5,382 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 15.6% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 17.2% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 108,803 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 15,934 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 55,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $56.35 on Monday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $39.35 and a 52 week high of $61.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.00. The company has a market cap of $114.30 billion, a PE ratio of -15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -69.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BMY. Citigroup increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.27.

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.