Raiffeisen Bank International AG Acquires Shares of 152,788 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 152,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $34,608,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 15,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $231,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,599 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:BDX opened at $171.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $205.70 and a 200 day moving average of $221.80.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.