305 Shares in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Bought by Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 305 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $8,382,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $246.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 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 $250.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $229.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.46. The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.