Davidson Trust Co. Grows Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Davidson Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,969 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.89 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its 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 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.