American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,348,120 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 201,989 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.81% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $532,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BDX stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $227.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,369,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,698. The company has a market cap of $65.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.87.

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 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%. On average, research analysts expect 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 approved a stock buyback program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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.