Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $5.25 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $248.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $229.59 and its 200-day moving average is $233.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $250.91.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

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.