Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Stock: PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Raises Holdings

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BDX. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,510 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 119,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,372,000 after purchasing an additional 14,579 shares in the last quarter. Bayban increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 74.0% in the third quarter. Bayban now owns 214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.8% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 16,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bingham Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $235,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $628,530.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,134,230. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,717,022.80. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 3,310 shares of company stock worth $688,650 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $215.72 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $140.11 and a one year high of $216.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.11, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by $0.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 5.66%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 101.45%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies. BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.