Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Acquires New Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 60,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,406,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

NYSE:BMY opened at $58.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $61.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.11 and a 200-day moving average of $54.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is presently -56.11%.

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.