Traders Purchase Large Volume of Becton, Dickinson and Company Call Options (NYSE:BDX)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 6,485 call options on the company. This is an increase of 155% compared to the average volume of 2,548 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,865. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after buying an additional 2,722,829 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5 %

BDX traded down $1.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $229.11. The company had a trading volume of 252,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,024. The company has a market cap of $65.78 billion, a PE ratio of 38.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $232.58 and a 200-day moving average of $231.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.