KBC Group NV Has $9.81 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

KBC Group NV raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,975 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,528 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $9,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BDX. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,513,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268,478 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $689,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after buying an additional 1,259,750 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $211,097,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $155,080,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,249 shares of company stock worth $231,358. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BDX opened at $192.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $162.29 and a one year high of $251.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $257.00 to $215.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Argus increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.27.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.