Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. Purchases Shares of 15,000 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,403,000. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for approximately 1.9% of Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 253 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,011,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 16,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,843,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 21,211 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,863 shares during the period. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $665,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $227.95 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $251.99. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.85. The company has a market cap of $65.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.