Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Buys 645 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $227.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.