Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,198 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,560,524,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 5.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,292,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,467,989,000 after buying an additional 1,394,158 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,959,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $870,198,000 after buying an additional 1,246,066 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,606,587 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $905,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,361,717 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $582,970,000 after acquiring an additional 134,815 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

NYSE:BMY traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.24. 17,425,597 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,919,494. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $41.07 and a one year high of $66.46. The firm has a market cap of $83.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.53) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.45 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a positive return on equity of 8.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -77.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Societe Generale downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

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.