Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Daiwa America

Daiwa America upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BMY. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.07.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY stock opened at $56.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $114.02 billion, a PE ratio of -15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.83 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $61.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm’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. Analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -66.85%.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 62,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BMY. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,896,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,806,469,000 after buying an additional 1,451,214 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 14.1% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 70,203,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,807,153,000 after acquiring an additional 8,675,322 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 61,030,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,157,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,729 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,940,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,325,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,275,787 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 23,498,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $975,897,000 after purchasing an additional 225,197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

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.