Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $61.10 and last traded at $60.28, with a volume of 1005624 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BMY. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa America raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.60.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.85.

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

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,499.03. This represents a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This trade represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted 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 in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

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.