Gries Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Gries Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 194.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,247 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 33,832 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC's holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $2,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMY. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,940,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,325,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,275,787 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 420.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,241,255 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $219,443,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425,789 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 695.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,554,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $183,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107,672 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,074,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $986,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002,418 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 61,030,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,157,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,729 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

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

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BMY traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $58.93. 4,329,163 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,428,663. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $61.10. The company has a market cap of $119.52 billion, a PE ratio of -16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.02.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The business's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. Bristol-Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -69.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.60.

Bristol-Myers Squibb 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.