Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 1,644 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 590,795 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $101,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after purchasing an additional 448,644 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,513,421,000 after buying an additional 3,268,478 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,466,613,000 after buying an additional 1,670,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,723,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,153,157,000 after buying an additional 244,199 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the sale, the director owned 22,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,167,375. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,249 shares of company stock worth $231,358. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $192.93 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $162.29 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.27.

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.