Humankind Investments LLC Purchases 685 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Humankind Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the 4th 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. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $167.22 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. 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 50-day simple moving average of $208.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.03.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.44.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.