Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Down 0.5%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) was down 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $48.24 and last traded at $48.26. Approximately 11,931,277 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 10,940,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BMY. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.12.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $97.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.39.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $11.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.19 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 50.95%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opinicus Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 13,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 5,319 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 10,556 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the first quarter worth about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% 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.