Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 67.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,920 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 192,541 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $5,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 25.0% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 10,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.3% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 44,897 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,724,000. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BMY shares. Argus upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down from $67.00) on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.00.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:BMY traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,790,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,964,894. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1 year low of $39.35 and a 1 year high of $63.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.11 and a 200-day moving average of $56.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.13 billion, a PE ratio of -11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.77 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 18.53% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($4.40) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb's payout ratio is 92.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $47.58 per share, with a total value of $202,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 83,513 shares in the company, valued at $3,973,548.54. This represents a 5.36 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.