Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,563,853 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,213,071 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $187,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BMY. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1,168.1% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.29.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of BMY opened at $55.78 on Friday. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12-month low of $39.35 and a 12-month high of $61.08. The stock has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.54, a PEG ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.34.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $11.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.26 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a positive return on equity of 11.94% and a negative net margin of 15.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Samit Hirawat purchased 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $54.67 per share, with a total value of $100,046.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 62,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,395,499.03. This trade represents a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Phil M. Holzer sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $38,934.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,091.20. This represents a 5.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.