Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,458,536 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 102,790 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $127,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 62,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. This represents a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.64.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMY opened at $57.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $56.27 and its 200 day moving average is $49.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.24. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a fifty-two week low of $39.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.08.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. Bristol-Myers Squibb's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio is presently -69.08%.

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.