National Pension Service Buys 48,299 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

National Pension Service increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 657,710 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,299 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.23% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $149,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $227.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.17.

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 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, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This trade represents a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.