Phraction Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Phraction Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,138 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises about 3.7% of Phraction Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Phraction Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $767,000. Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upped 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:BDX opened at $225.72 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.94.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.