American Century Companies Inc. Has $532.72 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,348,120 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 201,989 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $532,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $230.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $232.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $66.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.