Vestcor Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,157 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $2,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 169.5% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 186,395 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,543,000 after acquiring an additional 117,224 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 218,223 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,343,000 after buying an additional 33,423 shares during the period. Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 6,802 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY opened at $59.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.75 billion, a PE ratio of -13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.51. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $63.33. 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 (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 18.53% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -56.11%.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. The trade was a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.