ProShare Advisors LLC Buys 92,572 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 843,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,572 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.29% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $145,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,750 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after buying an additional 448,644 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,513,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268,478 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,567,654,000 after acquiring an additional 667,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,012,649,000 after acquiring an additional 312,124 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Argus raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $177.88 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $162.29 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $186.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.15. The stock has a market cap of $50.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,249 shares of company stock worth $231,358 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.