Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $61.68 and last traded at $61.90, with a volume of 841067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BMY shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $126.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.07, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $57.32 and a 200 day moving average of $55.00.

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 positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. Research analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is presently -56.11%.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,989,525,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 32,079,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,814,341,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011,983 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 701.2% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 12,470,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $705,309,000 after purchasing an additional 10,913,708 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3,880.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,977,505 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,827,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $257,618,000. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.