Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,442 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 70,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,973,000 after acquiring an additional 10,393 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $968,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 357.2% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 13,854 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,143,000 after purchasing an additional 10,824 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $471,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 12,085 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,742,000 after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was 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. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2%

BDX stock opened at $176.72 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $50.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.01. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

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.