Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $2.57 Million Stock Holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has increased its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 67.6%, owning 42,211 shares valued at $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 17,020 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG and Bank of Nova Scotia, have also boosted their holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb, which currently sees 76.41% of its stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.62, reflecting a yield of 5.5%, despite facing a challenging stock market with a current average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.38.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY - Free Report) by 67.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,020 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $2,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 32,079,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,814,341,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011,983 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 701.2% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 12,470,106 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $705,309,000 after purchasing an additional 10,913,708 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 24,658,360 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,394,677,000 after buying an additional 3,431,248 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 7,769,227 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $439,427,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,866,624 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,593,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,865 shares in the last quarter. 76.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bristol Myers Squibb Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BMY traded up $0.07 on Monday, reaching $46.02. 1,871,765 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,423,582. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a fifty-two week low of $42.96 and a fifty-two week high of $63.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $47.32 and its 200-day moving average is $51.82.

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

Bristol Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Bristol Myers Squibb's payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Bristol Myers Squibb to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Bristol Myers Squibb from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Bristol Myers Squibb from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.38.

Bristol Myers Squibb Company 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.