Rathbones Group PLC Has $24.81 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,737 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $24,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,265,638 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $967,745,000 after purchasing an additional 267,436 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,819,083 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $412,695,000 after acquiring an additional 141,406 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $19,431,000. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $11,344,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 370,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $84,059,000 after purchasing an additional 68,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $204.88 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.12. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $199.37 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.83 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 69.10%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,196 shares of company stock worth $962,685 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.