Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Acquires 499 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $181,279,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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, March 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,363 shares of company stock valued at $1,676,105. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $227.84 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $232.72 and its 200 day moving average is $232.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.