South Dakota Investment Council Sells 170,538 Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company $BMY

Key Points

• South Dakota Investment Council cut its Bristol Myers Squibb stake by 49.1%, selling 170,538 shares and retaining 176,867 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million.
• Other major institutional investors increased their positions, including Norges Bank, AQR Capital Management, Bank of New York Mellon, Geode Capital and Man Group; institutions collectively own 76.41% of BMY shares.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with a $61.25 average price target. BMY recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and maintains a $0.63 quarterly dividend, yielding about 4% annually.

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 170,538 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $10,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BMY. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bristol Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,947,272,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 172.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,796,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,391,485,000 after buying an additional 16,332,924 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,495,875 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,321,308,000 after buying an additional 7,837,485 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,638,346 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,837,026,000 after acquiring an additional 6,084,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in Bristol Myers Squibb by 280.4% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 7,465,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $345,594,000 after acquiring an additional 5,503,391 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BMY. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Bristol Myers Squibb from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Bristol Myers Squibb Price Performance

Bristol Myers Squibb stock opened at $63.24 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $57.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.42. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a 52-week low of $42.52 and a 52-week high of $64.96.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $11.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.93 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb had a net margin of 15.01% and a return on equity of 64.87%. Bristol Myers Squibb's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Bristol Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio is 70.79%.

Bristol Myers Squibb Company Profile

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, focused on discovering, developing and delivering medicines for serious diseases. The company's core activities include research and development, clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of prescription pharmaceuticals across multiple therapeutic areas. BMS concentrates on advancing therapies in oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and specialty areas through both small molecules and biologics.

BMS's marketed portfolio and late‑stage pipeline reflect a strong emphasis on cancer and immune‑mediated conditions.

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