Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,724,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,943 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.94% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $618,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $272.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of BDX opened at $205.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $58.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $193.03 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share 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, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.