Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Sold by Vestal Point Capital LP

Vestal Point Capital LP cut its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 50.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 250,000 shares during the quarter. Bristol-Myers Squibb accounts for 1.0% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Vestal Point Capital LP’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $12,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BMY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 61,030,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,157,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,968,729 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,940,609 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,325,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,275,787 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 23,498,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $975,897,000 after purchasing an additional 225,197 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,225,040 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $839,946,000 after purchasing an additional 735,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 18.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 19,074,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $986,931,000 after buying an additional 3,002,418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,395,499.03. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock opened at $59.27 on Friday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $39.35 and a one year high of $61.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.12.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is currently -66.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BMY. Daiwa America upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.07.

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.