Ieq Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 122.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,670 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,247 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third 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 period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $227.98 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $65.46 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $232.86 and a 200-day moving average of $233.34.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

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.