Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb Company by 79.7%, selling 196,877 shares in the 1st quarter, leaving them with 50,151 shares valued at approximately $3,059,000.
• Institutional investors own 76.41% of Bristol Myers Squibb, with several hedge funds making new acquisitions or increasing their stakes in the company during the last quarter.
• Recent analyst reports maintained a "neutral" rating on Bristol Myers Squibb, with an average price target of $57.33, following a downward adjustment in target prices from firms such as Goldman Sachs and Jefferies.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 79.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,151 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 196,877 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Bristol Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,651,000. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 590.9% in the first quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 78,597 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,794,000 after buying an additional 67,221 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 1.4% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 65,038 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,967,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC now owns 58,426 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,305,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 17.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 550,613 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,582,000 after buying an additional 80,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on BMY shares. Argus upgraded Bristol Myers Squibb to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bristol Myers Squibb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bristol Myers Squibb has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.38.

Bristol Myers Squibb Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of BMY traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.22. 952,098 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,475,990. The firm has a market cap of $92.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.15. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a 52-week low of $42.96 and a 52-week high of $63.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $12.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 80.04% and a net margin of 10.58%. Bristol Myers Squibb's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Bristol Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Bristol Myers Squibb Profile

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.