Cardinal Capital Management Raises Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 2,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BDX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,920,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,390. The firm has a market cap of $65.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $232.90 and a 200-day moving average of $233.29. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.