Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 188 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Edmp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 41,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 9,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,538 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Management Co. raised 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 valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

BMY opened at $59.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.25. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $39.35 and a 52-week high of $61.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.17 billion, a PE ratio of -13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.74.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.20. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 13.93% and a negative net margin of 18.53%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This is a boost from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is -56.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Samit Hirawat bought 1,823 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.84 per share, with a total value of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BMY shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Daiwa America raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.86.

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.