Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 85,647 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $19,431,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $208.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $230.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.33. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $204.95 and a 1-year high of $251.99. 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 company has a market cap of $59.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

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

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.