Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 250,451 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 575.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 293,943 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 250,451 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $16,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY stock opened at $56.96 on Friday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a fifty-two week low of $39.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.89, a PEG ratio of 2.13 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.75.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its 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 13.81% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -56.11%.

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.