Palisade Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Palisade Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,338 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,348 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BMY. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of BMY traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.04. 10,924,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,784,603. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $43.33 and a 52 week high of $69.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.48. The company has a market capitalization of $89.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.21, a PEG ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.45.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.53) by $0.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 8.83% and a negative net margin of 13.50%. The business had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is currently -77.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BMY. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Societe Generale downgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Bristol-Myers Squibb 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.