Elefante Mark B Buys Shares of 6,094 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Elefante Mark B acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,094 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,383,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 36,857 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,362,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533 shares during the last quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,117,971 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $253,634,000 after buying an additional 228,640 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 3,145 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $167.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $209.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.65.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign 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.