Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 396 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,095 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. This represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $246.85 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $250.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $229.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

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.