Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Acquires 46 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,935,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.2% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,555 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $304,000. abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 81.6% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 269,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $64,498,000 after purchasing an additional 121,309 shares during the period. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.9% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $227.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.17. 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 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $65.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40.

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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped 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 increased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were 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 $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.