Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Has $1.45 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 123.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,380 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares during the quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in 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 worth $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $227.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,920,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,390. The company's fifty day moving average price is $232.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.34. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock 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.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.