Hahn Capital Management LLC Purchases 9,844 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Hahn Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 47.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,567 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,844 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises approximately 3.0% of Hahn Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hahn Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th 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. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 20,859 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $767,000. Busey Bank grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $224.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $233.13 and its 200 day moving average is $233.11. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.