Tufton Capital Management Trims Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Tufton Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 79,395 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,304 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $4,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BMY shares. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $58.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.61. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $39.35 and a 52-week high of $61.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 18.53% and a positive return on equity of 13.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -56.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This represents a 2.94 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.