SVB Wealth LLC Invests $1.31 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,308,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third 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 period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at $108,243,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.2% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,107,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $266,974,000 after purchasing an additional 424,487 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler boosted 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, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6 %

BDX opened at $225.57 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.