Phoenix Financial Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,283 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,232,000 after acquiring an additional 13,874 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 604.3% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 176,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,611,000 after acquiring an additional 151,208 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 109,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,265,638 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $967,745,000 after purchasing an additional 267,436 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $201.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $193.03 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share 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 analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,675 shares of company stock worth $1,057,182. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.