Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,720,000 shares, a growth of 37.8% from the January 31st total of 2,700,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $767,000. Busey Bank increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE BDX traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $224.77. 843,057 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,497,382. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $64.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.