Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,891 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BMY. Meridian Management Co. lifted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% during the third quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 28,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 664 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 26,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BMY shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.27.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $56.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $39.35 and a 52 week high of $61.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -69.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% 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.