Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Stock Price Up 0.4% on Analyst Upgrade

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) shares shot up 0.4% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $51.00 to $52.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Bristol-Myers Squibb traded as high as $48.57 and last traded at $48.49. 1,886,248 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 15,592,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.30.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, April 1st. Societe Generale lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $77.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.2% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 5,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.9% in the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 4,824 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.3% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 8,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 6.6% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $99.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.15. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.18%.

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.