Westend Capital Management LLC Takes $38,000 Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 668 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $100,046.10. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY opened at $56.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.82. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a twelve month low of $39.35 and a twelve month high of $61.08. The firm has a market cap of $114.30 billion, a PE ratio of -15.70, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -69.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.27.

Bristol-Myers Squibb 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.