Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Acquired by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 135,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 6,265 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $30,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX opened at $224.89 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.82. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

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.