Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires 2,469 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $1,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,896,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,806,469,000 after buying an additional 1,451,214 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 61,030,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,157,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,729 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,940,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,325,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,275,787 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,204,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,228,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,074,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $986,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002,418 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.60.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY stock opened at $58.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.85. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $39.35 and a one year high of $61.10. The company has a market capitalization of $119.35 billion, a PE ratio of -16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is an increase from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -69.08%.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,091.20. The trade was a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.