Hantz Financial Services Inc. Purchases 4,496 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,904 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,496 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after acquiring an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after purchasing an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $697,513,000 after purchasing an additional 89,157 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $249.75 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $229.10 and a 200-day moving average of $233.46. The stock has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $250.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.