Smithfield Trust Co Buys 110 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 2,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of 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, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.7 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.29, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, 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 owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.