IFP Advisors Inc Boosts Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 79.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,570 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,336 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,394,000 after acquiring an additional 3,934 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 33,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,095,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,555 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, 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 90 days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $230.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $233.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.21. The company has a market capitalization of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.