Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Takes $312,000 Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE BDX opened at $227.54 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $65.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $232.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

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.