Norges Bank Makes New $735.52 Million Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,242,045 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $735,523,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE BDX opened at $228.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.82.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on 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 cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

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.