Aviva PLC Buys 35,401 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 174,077 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 35,401 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $39,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after purchasing an additional 810,345 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,378,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $766,572,000 after buying an additional 212,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $208.03 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $59.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $194.46 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $230.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.33.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BDX. Barclays lifted 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

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.