Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 1,177 Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,954 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,177 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bristol-Myers Squibb in the fourth quarter worth $1,873,696,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 5.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 25,292,711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,467,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394,158 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 114,228.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,469,785 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,544,751,000 after acquiring an additional 21,451,006 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 8.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,606,587 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $905,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,005,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $803,730,000 after acquiring an additional 197,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.41% of the company’s stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

NYSE:BMY traded up $0.38 on Monday, hitting $48.66. The stock had a trading volume of 7,403,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,892,146. The stock has a market cap of $98.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.75. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52-week low of $47.58 and a 52-week high of $70.93.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.15. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 50.95% and a net margin of 17.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 5.41 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 Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $58.00 to $51.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Societe Generale cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bristol-Myers Squibb from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.12.

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.