Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,919 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $889,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $735,523,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,279,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note 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, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $275.71.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on BDX
Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance
Shares of BDX traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $198.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,062,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,712,005. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $56.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $220.84 and its 200 day moving average is $228.50. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $193.03 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.
Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company
In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93 % 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 Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,078 shares of company stock worth $915,986 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Becton, Dickinson and Company
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Free Report)
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.
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