Gries Financial LLC Buys New Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Gries Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,791 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $860,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC now owns 31,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 152,293 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 66,904 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,179,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 56,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,909,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 49,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,254,000 after acquiring an additional 7,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $246.85 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $250.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.46. The company has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.