Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Stock Holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb Company $BMY

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its Bristol Myers Squibb stake by 15.4% in Q4, buying 47,200 shares to hold 353,026 shares valued at $19.04 million.
• Several large institutions (Man Group, Two Sigma, VanECK, Arrowstreet, AQR) also increased positions, leaving 76.41% of BMY held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• BMY beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.58 vs. $1.42) on $11.49B revenue, pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (about a 4.3% yield), and provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 6.05–6.35 with a consensus price target near $61.31.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,026 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 47,200 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $19,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BMY. Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 280.4% during the second 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 last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 530.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 5,453,357 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $245,946,000 after acquiring an additional 4,588,601 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 67.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,859,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $444,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,982,439 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 31.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,833,977 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $669,012,000 after acquiring an additional 3,522,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 56.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,463,981 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $426,352,000 after acquiring an additional 3,396,041 shares during the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bristol Myers Squibb

In other news, EVP David V. Elkins sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.67, for a total transaction of $1,850,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 159,248 shares in the company, valued at $9,820,824.16. This represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bristol Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $58.24 on Monday. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a fifty-two week low of $42.52 and a fifty-two week high of $62.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.63. The company has a market capitalization of $118.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.26. 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 (NYSE:BMY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.16. Bristol Myers Squibb had a net margin of 15.01% and a return on equity of 64.87%. The business had revenue of $11.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Bristol Myers Squibb has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.350 EPS. Analysts expect that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Bristol Myers Squibb's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.31.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

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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