Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,857 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,533 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in 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. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 689.4% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 3,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

BDX opened at $167.22 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.15.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were 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 owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986. 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.