Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 799 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,121 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 799 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $227.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $231.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

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 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Piper Sandler increased 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.