New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 305 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,863 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third 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 position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third 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 period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $224.44 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. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $64.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $233.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.11.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

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.