Vanguard Group Inc. Has $6.07 Billion Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $6,067,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after purchasing an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $8,382,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $230.63 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $232.58 and its 200-day moving average is $231.93. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market cap of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.