Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Acquires New Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,543,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $767,000. Busey Bank raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. The trade was a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $229.35 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $66.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $232.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid 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 yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.