Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 757,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 46,342 shares during the period. Bristol-Myers Squibb accounts for about 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $42,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,597,150 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $90,335,000 after purchasing an additional 60,365 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $488,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.0% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 103,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,355,000 after purchasing an additional 29,044 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.8% during the third quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,595 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 34.3% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after purchasing an additional 11,387 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,823 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb 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 in the company, valued at $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Daiwa America raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $57.83 on Tuesday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $39.35 and a 52-week high of $61.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.03 and a 200 day moving average of $54.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $117.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -56.11%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 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.