Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 427,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30,078 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $24,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 3,139,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $162,440,000 after buying an additional 28,427 shares during the last quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,108 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 17,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 155,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,036,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of BMY opened at $59.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.74. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a twelve month low of $39.35 and a twelve month high of $61.10. The stock has a market cap of $121.17 billion, a PE ratio of -13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

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

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat acquired 1,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $54.84 per share, for a total transaction of $99,973.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,506,030.88. This trade represents a 2.94 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.