Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 2,065 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $767,000. Busey Bank lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $230.22 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.05.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.