KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,054,868 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 628,908 shares during the quarter. Bristol-Myers Squibb makes up approximately 0.6% of KBC Group NV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $229,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter worth $312,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 34,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 8,772 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 48,942 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at about $490,000. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,091.20. The trade was 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 bought 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 3.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY opened at $59.68 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.62. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $61.08. The firm has a market cap of $121.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.27.

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.