Bristol-Myers: A $44 Billion High-Yield Stock That Could Be in Trouble

It's one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. I added the shares to my High-Yield Investing portfolio in January 2009. Over the following two years, I received $2.54 a share in dividends thanks to a 5% yield. Meanwhile, the price rose steadily for a gain of more than 40%. Dividends of $1.28 per share in 2010 were paid out of earnings of $1.79 per share, for a comfortable 72% payout ratio. The current dividend rate of $1.32 per share is amply covered by management's projected earnings of $2.00-$2.10 a share this year. So why on Earth did I sell this seemingly rock-solid dividend payer -- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) -- from my portfolio earlier this month?The market's recent pullback has been a long time coming. If it weren't for the tragedy in Japan or riots in Libya, then higher interest rates, or weaker-than-expected economic growth,... Read more

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