Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Increases Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,988 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after acquiring an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $225.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.94.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.