Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys New Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 305 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the fourth 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. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $767,000. Busey Bank raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX opened at $230.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $233.05 and its 200-day moving average is $233.21. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.