Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,704 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 14,928 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $6,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BMY. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.5% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

NYSE BMY traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.04. The stock had a trading volume of 10,924,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,784,603. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The company has a market cap of $89.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.45. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $43.33 and a 52-week high of $69.10.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($4.53) by $0.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a positive return on equity of 8.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is -77.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Societe Generale cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

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.