Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,265 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $30,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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 raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $0.63 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $224.17. 519,521 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,119,729. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The business's fifty day moving average is $232.64 and its 200-day moving average is $233.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.