Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Shares Purchased by Keystone Financial Services

Keystone Financial Services lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,576 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 579 shares during the quarter. Keystone Financial Services’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.67. The firm has a market cap of $65.22 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

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.