Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Has $1.14 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,013 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Creative Planning raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,617 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,716,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $351,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,984,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $697,513,000 after buying an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at about $690,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $249.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $250.91. The company has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $228.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.