Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Has $1.09 Million Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. decreased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 97.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 183,600 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This trade represents a 20.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393 in the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $175.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.80. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The company has a market cap of $50.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

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.