Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys Shares of 305 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 305 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 877 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $230.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 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 $251.99.

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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

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.