Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel Makes New $302,000 Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $224.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $232.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.73. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. The trade was a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

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.