EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 63.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 491 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,179,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,429,000 after acquiring an additional 16,918 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $458,000. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.2% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,829 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,611,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 56,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,717,000 after buying an additional 2,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.6 %

BDX stock opened at $226.43 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $65.02 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $232.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,872,464.30. The trade was a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,363 shares of company stock worth $1,676,105. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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.