Vise Technologies Inc. Acquires New Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $814,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,000,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,269,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,256 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,090,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887,224 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $474,993,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,101,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $318,050,000 after purchasing an additional 30,766 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $215.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $188.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.32. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $138.31 and a twelve month high of $216.74. The company has a market cap of $59.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.96, a PEG ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.96 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 101.45%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 5th that permits the company to buy back 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $628,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,134,230. The trade was a 2.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,717,022.80. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,462 shares of company stock valued at $1,456,770 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies.

BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.

Its offerings serve hospitals, clinics, laboratories, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.