Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 671 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,951,000 after buying an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Busey Bank increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.3 %

BDX opened at $230.22 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of 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 lowered 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $283.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.