Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Reduces Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 30.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 71,648 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30,765 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $3,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 759 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

NYSE:BMY opened at $52.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $106.46 billion, a PE ratio of -16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.35 and a 1-year high of $55.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.44.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently -77.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BMY shares. Citigroup lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on 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. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $53.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.57.

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.