Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Reduces Stock Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,577 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,488 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BMY. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 1.5 %

BMY opened at $59.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $61.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.70. The stock has a market cap of $121.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.62 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -56.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on BMY shares. 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. Leerink Partners raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bristol-Myers Squibb has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% 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.