Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) Shares Up 1.4% Following Strong Earnings

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $45.34 and last traded at $45.33. 5,111,179 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 15,762,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.70.

The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.53) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.45 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 50.95%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.35%. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s payout ratio is currently 62.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Societe Generale cut shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,560,524,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,292,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,467,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394,158 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 23,534,378 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,207,549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998,228 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,959,807 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $870,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,066 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 8.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,606,587 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $905,806,000 after buying an additional 1,240,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $90.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.18.

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.