Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 190 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759 shares during the last quarter. V2 Financial group LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $349,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 18,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,201,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $348,000. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,663,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $229.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $232.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.