Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Has $1.09 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 97.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 183,600 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after buying an additional 184,288 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after purchasing an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $175.37 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $203.61 and a 200-day moving average of $220.80. The company has a market capitalization of $50.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. 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.