Arlington Trust Co LLC Acquires 307 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 163.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,322 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $227,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V2 Financial group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. 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 boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $230.22 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 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.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 69.10%.

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.