Hantz Financial Services Inc. Buys 4,496 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,904 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,617 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after buying an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $351,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $697,513,000 after acquiring an additional 89,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $690,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BDX opened at $249.75 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $229.10 and its 200-day moving average is $233.46. The firm has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $250.91.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BDX. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

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.