Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 28,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 39.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 664 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.3% during the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 26,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BMY shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This trade represents a 5.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of BMY opened at $57.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $115.63 billion, a PE ratio of -15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.45. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $61.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.20.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $11.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -69.08%.

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.