Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Has $30.48 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 134,341 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 1.7% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $30,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $247.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $250.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $230.53 and a 200-day moving average of $233.81. The company has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.