Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Short Interest Down 5.7% in March

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 35,120,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 37,250,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 16,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BMY shares. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $58.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $77.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.12.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

NYSE:BMY remained flat at $48.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,188,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,751,105. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a twelve month low of $47.58 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $98.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 50.95%. The firm had revenue of $11.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.18%.

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.