Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stake Lifted by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 80.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,171 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 4,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $181,279,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $21,607,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 55,001 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 51,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,611,000 after purchasing an additional 17,292 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $229.51 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,061 shares of company stock valued at $1,379,521 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

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.