Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. Has $442,000 Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $767,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Busey Bank increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $242.01 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $230.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.94.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.