Gradient Investments LLC Sells 276 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,645 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Management Co. grew its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 28,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.8% in the third 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 raised its stake 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 valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 26,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This trade represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.27.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $59.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $121.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.47 and its 200 day moving average is $52.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $61.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 15.30% and a positive return on equity of 11.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is -69.08%.

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.