Bristol-Myers Squibb Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 46,473 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 61% compared to the average daily volume of 28,883 call options.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY stock opened at $58.25 on Wednesday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $61.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.05 and a 200-day moving average of $54.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -56.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMY shares. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

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.