Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Holdings Trimmed by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 36,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $172.04 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $49.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $204.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.34.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BDX. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.