J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Buys 41,730 Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 207.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,851 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,730 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $3,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,728 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 4,935 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in Bristol Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,094,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 166,479 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,450,000 after purchasing an additional 49,678 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BMY shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Bristol Myers Squibb to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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 objective (down from $67.00) on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.69.

Bristol Myers Squibb Stock Down 1.4%

BMY opened at $47.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a fifty-two week low of $41.90 and a fifty-two week high of $63.33. The company's 50-day moving average is $47.47 and its 200 day moving average is $52.89.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $11.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.77 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 87.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($4.40) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. Bristol Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 4,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $47.58 per share, with a total value of $202,215.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 83,513 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,973,548.54. This represents a 5.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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.

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