Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,373,209 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,944,516 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,373,209 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.37% of Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $10,743,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 664 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY opened at $61.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.17 and a 200 day moving average of $55.93. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a twelve month low of $39.35 and a twelve month high of $63.33.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -56.11%.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.86.

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.