Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $12.17 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,649 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,619 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $12,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $735,523,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,004,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $181,279,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. This represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,675 shares of company stock valued at $1,057,182 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $202.02 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $193.03 and a 52 week high of $251.99. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $222.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.37. The company has a market cap of $58.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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.