Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 947,523 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 264,713 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $53,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Edmp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 41,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 9,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 5,690 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 2.0 %

BMY opened at $60.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.30. The company has a market cap of $121.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.60, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $39.35 and a one year high of $63.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -56.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,823 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently 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.