United Bank Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

United Bank lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,798 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,179,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $284,429,000 after purchasing an additional 16,918 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,677,677 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $404,488,000 after purchasing an additional 62,133 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,291 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 147.5% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 70,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $17,095,000 after buying an additional 4,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $227.34 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $65.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $231.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

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.