Scientech Research LLC Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,739 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1,328.2% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 219,222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $49,735,000 after purchasing an additional 203,873 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 3,415 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 32,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,436,000 after purchasing an additional 3,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BDX. Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.44.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $175.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $50.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $203.61 and its 200-day moving average is $220.91.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.