Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 673,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 4,879 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $152,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.9% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 14,620 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,525,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,965 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $230.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $231.90 and a 200-day moving average of $234.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

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 dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.