Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 184,288 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.22% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $6,067,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,279,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,974,000 after buying an additional 424,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,782,894 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $404,485,000 after buying an additional 348,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % 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 three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $230.63 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued 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 net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.