8 Dividend Giants with Lowest Short Interest in 2024

2. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)

Short % of Float as of September 22: 1.10%

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) is an American pharmaceutical company that specializes in innovative medicines and therapies for patients with serious illnesses. The company has a strong dividend history, having raised its payouts for 18 consecutive years. The company’s strong cash flow has enabled it to steadily increase its dividends for nearly two decades. Its trailing twelve-month operating cash flow is $14.1 billion and its levered free cash flow for the period is $15.7 billion. Currently, it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.74%, as of September 22.

Earlier this year, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) completed a $14 billion acquisition of Karuna Therapeutics and its experimental psychosis treatment, KarXT. However, the stock dropped after the company took a $12.9 billion charge for in-process research and development in the first quarter related to the acquisition. Since the start of 2024, the stock is down by a little over 4%, as of the close of September 22.

Despite this, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) still shows significant growth potential. In Q2 2024, the company reported $12.2 billion in revenue, a 9% increase from the same period last year. Its Growth and Legacy portfolios drove a 13% year-over-year increase in U.S. revenue to $8.8 billion. The company’s development pipeline includes five experimental drugs in late-stage clinical trials. With numerous growth drivers in place and several products already commercialized, BMY is well-positioned to sustain steady cash flow.

Of the 912 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey at the end of Q2 2024, 61 funds owned stakes in Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY), up from 57 in the previous quarter. These stakes are worth over $2.5 billion in total. With over 14 million shares, Pzena Investment Management was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q2.