Lincoln National Corp Grows Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 299 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.4% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,429 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,799,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 79,488 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 28,214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.9% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,444,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $235.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.76, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $238.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $229.40 and a 12-month high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Barclays boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total transaction of $399,269.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.