Kovack Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 32.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,489 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,464 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $1,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 76.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Societe Generale downgraded shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $51.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $55.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.00.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock traded down $0.39 on Thursday, reaching $40.06. 9,131,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,023,750. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $39.63 and a 1-year high of $65.38.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($4.40) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($4.53) by $0.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a positive return on equity of 8.83%. The company had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio is presently -77.42%.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

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.