Phoenix Financial Ltd. Purchases Shares of 915 Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler increased 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. Barclays cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was 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. This represents a 9.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,675 shares of company stock valued at $1,057,182 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $201.54 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $193.03 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.86. The company has a market cap of $57.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.