Auxier Asset Management Acquires 3,074 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Auxier Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,401,126,000 after buying an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America cut 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 Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $171.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $198.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.80. 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 firm has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.