First Horizon Advisors Inc. Acquires 93 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,646 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $230.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $232.96 and its 200 day moving average is $233.25.

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

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. The trade was a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.