Equitable Trust Co. Grows Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDXFree Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,322 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on 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. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $229.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $66.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $232.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDXGet Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

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