Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $7.97 Million Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.4% during the third quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 11,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,838,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total transaction of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,311,211.44. The trade was a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $230.22 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.05. The company has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

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.