Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $5.15 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 5,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4,067.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1,746.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 18,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 17,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX traded down $0.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 676,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,049,643. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $232.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.34. 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 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of "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.